


Shine A Light On Me

by Bunnie24



Series: His Own Harley Quinn [2]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-15
Updated: 2012-11-15
Packaged: 2017-11-18 17:48:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/563730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnie24/pseuds/Bunnie24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a year for Jackie Gibbard as she finally exits Arkham with a new life ahead of her that includes a balance of Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow and Bruce Wayne/Batman. But can normality be maintained by the former criminal and her lover?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

She walked out of Arkham in the clothes she had come in just a year earlier; Alfred smiled as he watched Jackie leave the building and cheerfully coming down the stairs to meet with him.  
“Hey,” Jackie said softly, smiling at Alfred as she hugged him.  
“Hello, Love,” Alfred responded back, emotional now that Jackie was back in his and Bruce’s lives officially.  
Jackie looked at Alfred and smiled. “How’s Bruce?” she asked.  
Alfred nodded and opened the passenger door to the car. “He’s anxious to see you again!” he remarked.  
Jackie smiled as she got in the car, letting Alfred close the door behind him before walking to the driver’s side.  
It was quite for a moment before Jackie softly turned to Alfred. “…have you seen Jon lately?” she asked softly.  
Alfred nodded. “Yes, he stops by twice a week…” he said, turning to Jackie to smile.  
“…and--”  
“He’s fine too…nothing’s changed since the last time you saw him,” Alfred assured her. Jackie put herself at ease as she looked out the window.  
Jackie sighed as she continued to look out the window. “I’m sorry for all the inconvenience this brought you and Bruce,” she said, turning back to Alfred.  
Alfred shook his head “No…not at all. Oddly enough, Master Wayne has been having the time of his life—and he’s helped Bruce become quite a ‘chick magnet’ lately.” He said, chuckling to himself.  
“Did you just say ‘chick magnet’?” Jackie asked.  
Alfred smiled as he nodded, continuing to chuckle. “Yes, I did.” 

 

Jackie stared up at Wayne Manor, it was just how she left it.  
Alfred cleared his throat as he waited for Jackie to snap back into reality, ready to walk her into Wayne Manor to greet Bruce Wayne for the first time in awhile.  
“It’s all frightening, Alfred,” She said, walking up the stairs with Alfred who was elegant in every step he took.  
“Well, it can be when you’ve been taken out of it against your will…” Alfred said, reaching the front door.  
Alfred looked at Jackie. “…will you be staying here, or will you be pursuing other living arrangements?” he asked softly.  
“Here, for now. Doubt I’ll be out of your hair too quickly,” Jackie said, smiling to Alfred.  
Alfred sighed with relief. “Master Wayne will be glad to hear that,” h said, opening the front door.  
Jackie walked in, yes; everything was exactly how she left it. There was a bright smile on her face as she looked around the mansion and admired its familiar ways while Alfred closed the door behind him.  
“Master Wayne?” Alfred called loudly while he waited with Jackie by the front door.  
“He’s very glad you’re hom,.” Alfred assured her, hugging her closely.  
Bruce was oblivious as he walked out of the kitchen, brushing off a creamy texture from his black shirt. “Alfred, where did you put the Club Soda?” he asked, finally looking up.  
Jackie smiled brightly at him as Bruce forgot about the stain on his shirt and looked at her in awe.  
“Come here,” Bruce said, reaching out to hug her, he didn’t let go for a long time; but neither did Jackie as she embraced him back.   
Jackie finally let go of Bruce and looked at him. “It’s good to see you again,” Jackie said brightly.  
Bruce stroked her hair. “Yeah, it’s good to see you again too.”  
Alfred smiled from the cheesy moment. “I’ll go get the Club Soda, Master Wayne,” he said, walking into the kitchen.  
It was silent for a moment before Jackie cleared her throat. “So, how is he?” she asked.  
“Oh, I just put him down for his nap,” Bruce said, pointing to the stairs right next to them.  
Jackie nodded. “Good, where exactly did you put his nursery?” she asked.   
Bruce smiled. “We redecorated your room for his arrival,” he said, laughing to himself.  
Jackie rolled her eyes playfully as she patted Bruce’s shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna go see him.”  
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, you haven’t held him since…”  
“—since I gave birth to all eight pounds of him three months ago,” Jackie remarked, climbing up the stairs gracefully. “It’s gonna be really nice not having to have to get my breast milk delivered,” she said again, reaching the second floor.  
Bruce nodded. “Yes, now that you’re home, things will be less awkward—you are staying home…aren’t you?” he asked curiously.  
Jackie nodded. “Yep. But things might change in the next few months…” she said.  
Bruce nodded to himself. “How did you I know you were going to say that?” he asked.

 

Jackie looked down in the crib and was almost in tears. This was a first time in a long time that she had been able to see him face to face rather than behind a glass wall. “Oh…he’s…” Jackie couldn’t finish her sentence as she felt tears welling up.   
Bruce rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay…it’s alright…he’s perfect!” Bruce assured her, smiling to himself.  
Jackie nodded. “He is…he really is,” she said, reaching out to stroke the sleeping newborns hair.  
“It’s alright to hold him, right?” she asked, looking at Bruce.  
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, sometimes I’ll just let him sleep on my shoulder for hours at a time…so does Alfred, when he’s wearing a rag,” he said.  
Jackie turned to Bruce, who smile. “He tends to get air bubbles when he eats…and likes to throw lunch up a lot,” he said, chuckling silently.  
“Oh…well, at least he’s eating,” Jackie said quietly before reaching for her newborn son and carefully beginning to hold him.  
Jackie smiled as she rocked her son for a moment, she turned around to see a rocking chair next to her bed.  
She sat with Bruce for awhile. Bruce looked at his watch. “…I have to get ready for my night shift,” he said, getting up from the bed.  
Jackie looked up and smiled, Bruce smiled back. “Sometimes when he wakes up he gets cranky…just sing a lullaby and rock him for a bit—he’ll be fine in a few minutes,” he said, before walking out of the bedroom/nursery.

 

Jackie awoke on her bed hours later, she looked at her nightstand clock to see that it was 11:45 p.m, but most importantly…the baby was missing.  
Jackie shot up in bed and looked around for a moment.  
“I got him,” A familiar rough voice said softly next to Jackie; she turned to see Jonathan Crane rocking in the chair with the baby, positioning a bottle against his chin as he fed the baby.  
Jackie sighed with relief, she sat on the edge of her bed and watched Crane feed their son.  
“Hey,” she whispered.  
Crane simply tried to nod as he kept the focus on the baby he was currently trying to feed.  
Jackie watched the both of them for a moment before the baby moved his head and pushed the bottle away from his mouth.  
“Ok, are you done? Mr. Julian?” Crane asked, putting the bottle down on the nightstand next to the lamp.  
Crane adjusted baby Julian against his shoulder, with a rag on his shoulder as he began to burp the baby; smoothing his back out as he softly patted his back.  
“You’re a natural…” Jackie said softly to Crane, who smiled at her.  
“Yeah…being a single parent, you learn pretty quickly,” Crane told her, listening out for Julian as he looked at Jackie.  
Jackie sighed heavily as she watched Crane, and tried to get a good look at her son but was having a hard time.  
Crane continued to pay Julian’s back as he looked at Jackie passionately. “I’m glad you’re home,” He said.  
Jackie nodded. “Me too,” she said.  
“Y’know, I was--”  
Julian burped loudly, taking Crane and Jackie both off guard as Crane looked to look at Julian. “You alright?” he asked softly.  
Julian made a playful noise before Crane continued to burp his son. “…I was there when you delivered him...I was off in the shadows as you had him.”   
Jackie looked at Crane closely. “…you didn’t leave a note,” she whispered.  
Crane nodded. “…because Gordon had a warrant out for me. I heard him say that if anybody saw me, I was to be arrested,” he said.  
“What did you do?” she asked softly.  
Crane softly shrugged his shoulders. “Just typical bad guy things…” Crane looked back at Julian who seemed done burping.   
Jackie smiled. “Typical?” she asked.  
Crane nodded, adjust Julian in his arms as he began to rock him. “But I paid off a few nurses I could see him before I had to sneak out.”   
“Well, that’s good. You haven’t been giving Bruce and Alfred a hard time, have you?” Jackie asked softly.  
Crane shook his head. “They’re all you got. Granted it’s awkward, but I’ve always tried to make it work with them,” He said.  
Jackie nodded, looking at the book on her nightstand table, she grabbed it softly and read the title before smiling. “Goodnight, Moon,” she whispered.   
“It’s his favorite,” Crane remarked softly, he looked down at Julian and smiled “Are you ready for bed? Cause I know Boo Boo is waiting for you in the crib,” He said softly to Julian before getting out of the rocking chair.  
Jackie smiled as she watched Jonathan Crane, a wanted/dangerous criminal carefully place his newborn son in a crib. It was almost too sweet for words.  
“Whose Boo Boo?” Jackie asked, getting off the bed and towards the crib.  
Crane sighed, pulling out a small and flimsy teddy bear and showing it to Jackie “Boo Boo. A present from Edward Nigma,” He said softly, before putting the teddy bear across from Julian.  
Jackie then watched Crane begin to wind up the musical mobile above the crib, Crane watched for a moment as Julian began to fall asleep.  
Jonathan then turned to Jackie and held her close before kissing her passionately. “I love you,” He told her.   
“I love you too,” Jackie told him.  
Crane stroked her hair. “Oh, and thanks for having my son to full term this time…” he said, trying not to be sarcastic as he smiled at Jackie.  
Jackie playfully punched him before hugging him tightly.  
Crane yawned. “…so it’s time for my bedtime,” he said softly, walking with Jackie towards the bed.   
He slid his shoes off and laid on top of the comforter with Jackie and looked at her closely.   
“This is the life.” Jackie told him.  
Crane nodded. “Yes, it is,” He remarked back, reaching out for the lamp before turning it off.


	2. Chapter Two

Julian was crying at 3:45 in the morning; Jackie groaned as she slowly got out of bed and turned the light on to see.  
Crane was gone, missing entirely; Jackie assumed he left to go do his nightly escapades as Scarecrow.  
Jackie sighed as she walked over to the crib and looked down at her son who was turning red from all of the crying.  
She sighed as she softly picked him up; holding him close when she felt the reason for the early rise.  
“Oh—oh, dear, Julian…” Jackie said, walking over to the changing table and laid him down softly.  
Jackie thought for a moment how to approach the dirty diaper when the door opened and the light came on; Jackie flinched and squinted from the light as Alfred walked into the room.  
“Just pull on the sticky handles…they’ll come undone.” Alfred said, walking up to the changing table.   
Jackie nodded as she undid the diaper; turning to Alfred for more guidance; he smiled calmly “Now, pick him up by his legs and pull out the diaper from under him.”  
“It won’t hurt him?” Jackie asked softly.  
Alfred shook his head “You’ll roll up the diaper and throw it in the bin, here.” He said, pointing to the dirty diaper bin next to the changing table.  
Jackie nodded; it was probably the easiest diaper change she had ever done considering it was her first one.  
Alfred smiled “…nothing better than a new life to wake you up…goodnight.” He said, walking out of the bedroom/nursery, closing the door behind him.  
Jackie held Julian closely as she took in a deep breathe, she looked down at her son and smiled before walking back to the rocking chair.

 

Julian was against Jackie’s shoulder as she attempted to make herself breakfast in the kitchen.  
The loud voices of Bruce and Alfred were trailing into the kitchen as they entered, Alfred walked up to Jackie and carefully took Julian out of her arms.  
“Trust me, you’ll drop him once he tells you!” Alfred remarked, walking out of the kitchen.  
Jackie was confused “Tell me what?” she asked.  
Alfred scuffed as he left the kitchen, taking Julian to another part of the mansion; still leaving Jackie confused as she glared at Bruce.  
“What is he talking about?” Jackie asked concerned.  
Bruce sighed “…I—threw Scarecrow in jail last night.” He said, trying to remain composed as he confessed his night to her.  
Jackie shocked as she got closed to Bruce “You promised!” she reminded him.  
“No, Bruce made a promise; Batman did not!” he said, walking out of the kitchen; leaving Jackie alone.  
“WHAT THE FUCK, BRUCE!?!” she yelled in the kitchen; she could softly hear Julian crying being echoed throughout the house.  
Jackie took in a deep breathe as she turned back to the stove to turn it off, leaving her half made Pancakes a mess as she left.

 

“Hey, Crane.” Gordon shouted walking towards his cell.  
Crane shot a glance at Gordon who was walking with a smaller figure “You’ve got a visitor.” He said, unlocking his cell.  
Jonathan Crane smiled as he saw Jackie holding Julian in his car seat; Gordon smiled at Jackie as he unlocked Crane’s cell to let Jackie in.  
“Just shout when you’re ready…” he assured Jackie before walking away.  
Jackie sat next to Crane on the bunk, playing Julian in his car seat in between their feet on the floor.  
Crane held Jackie’s hand as they stared at each other for a moment; Jackie sighed “I think it’s time to invest in something other than drug dealing.” She told him.  
Jonathan smiled for a moment as Jackie continued “Seriously, Jon. Do you really think you can make a profit drug dealing your toxin? It’s a one time only thing…”  
“Jackie--” Crane was interrupted.  
“No, it can’t just be about you anymore—I’m not gonna bail you out of jail every time you try to make a buck off of being a Batman villain.” She said, slowly standing up.  
Crane reached out for her hand “I know it’s not about me. It’s about us, and Julian…and I’m trying to figure out what I’m gonna do. I wish I could go back and be a Psychiatrist, but I can’t!” he told her.  
Jackie took a deep breathe “…yeah…but it’s not just about money…it’s about security, it’s about our safety, our health. Jon, I just am not sure I can let our son grow up with this.” She told him.  
She stroked his cheek “I love you, you know that—but, maybe we should stop and think about what’s best for Julian, even if that means you stepping out of the picture.” She whispered.  
Gordon, off in the distance, was listening and was almost in complete shock with what Jackie was telling Crane; Gordon knew Crane’s day probably couldn’t get any worse.  
Jackie stood up from the bunk “Gordon,” she yelled, picking up the car seat.   
Crane was flabbergasted; he was trying to wrap his head around what Jackie had just told him; what she had just warned him about.  
Gordon opened the cell and assisted Jackie out of the cell “Here, I got him.” He told her, taking a firm grip on Julian’s car seat.  
Jackie looked at him “Thanks, Jim.” She muttered.   
She turned back to Crane who looked up at her shocked; Jackie knew she probably wreaked his heart for the Thirtieth time but knew it was probably for the best this time.   
This selfless act was probably going to rip her to shreds as well when it finally dawned on her on the way to Gotham Police that being with Crane wasn’t a good idea since he wasn’t very ‘stable’ in more ways than one.  
Gordon took her arm as he escorted her and Julian out of the police department “…that took some courage to do that you know.” He told her.  
Jackie nodded “Yeah, I know.” She muttered softly.  
Gordon touched her back softly “It’s amazing what we sacrifice as parents for our children…” he told her.  
“Yeah, it’s a miracle that we survive doing it, too.” Jackie said, walking down to the car where Alfred was waiting for her.   
Gordon opened the door and assisted Jackie get Julian’s car seat buckled in before assuring Jackie that everything was going to be alright.  
Jackie got in the car with Alfred, the ride home was quiet as Alfred turned to Jackie “…you know it’s not over for you two.” He told her.  
“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.  
Alfred smiled “You and Crane, you share DNA with a single human being…no matter what you tell yourself, Crane will be back.” He told her.  
Jackie smiled “Are you rooting for that?”   
Alfred tried to contain a smile “…it’s not my relationship, but yes—I am rooting for you two.” He told her, finally letting a chuckle out.


	3. Chapter Three

Julian sneezed.  
Bruce gasped as he looked at Julian from his swing “…aww, bless you.” He said, wiping the snot away from his nose with a Kleenex.   
Julian stared at Bruce with his blue eyes while Jackie sat on the couch next to Julian’s swing, watching the news quietly.  
“He looks a lot like his father,” Bruce said softly, turning to Jackie.  
Jackie sighed, wrapping herself tighter in her gray sweater “That’s what happened when you share DNA with somebody.” She muttered.  
Bruce sat next to Jackie and patted her thigh “…you can’t beat yourself up over this…even if it is my fault.” Bruce told her.  
Jackie looked at Bruce for a moment, her eyes quickly shifted back to the news while Bruce sat there; waiting for a reply that he would never get.  
“…it’s going to be hilarious if and when Jonathan realizes that Bruce and Batman are the same guy.” Jackie muttered to herself out loud; Bruce turned to her and laughed.  
Bruce shook his head as he sat back on the couch “He might actually check himself into Arkham for that one.” He said.   
Jackie turned to Bruce and smiled softly “That’ll be the day.” She said.  
Bruce nodded “Yeah, I’m surprised he hasn’t knocked on our door to fight for his love towards you. It’s been what, two weeks since you dumped him?” he asked.  
“Three.” Jackie said, reflecting the time passed; she turned to Julian who had changed so much in those three weeks; almost four months now.  
Bruce thought for a moment “What if he did find out, about Bruce Wayne and Batman being the same guy?” he thought out loud to himself.  
Jackie shrugged her shoulders “It would be nice if Jonathan Crane and Bruce Wayne were civil…and Batman and Scarecrow hated each others guts—you’d both come home for dinner and gripe about it to Alfred and I.”   
Bruce sighed, the reality check had settled in for Jackie as another post-partum depression tear shed from her face “That’s what my life is becoming!” she said as she began to sob.  
“Oh, no it’s not!” Bruce assured her, holding her close as she sobbed on the living room couch.  
Bruce held her tightly as he rocked her “It’s not even close to that. You and Jonathan were-are-will be nothing like that.” He told her.  
“If we even get back together this time!” Jackie said.  
Bruce turned to Jackie “Knowing how you two are—you’re worse than Harley and The Joker.” He said, patting her thigh once again.  
Jackie wiped away the last tear and looked down at her watch; 8:30 P.M.  
“I need to give Julian a bath.” Jackie said softly, standing up from the couch and softly taking Julian out of his swing.

 

Jackie held Julian’s head firmly as he poured warm water down his head to wash the shampoo off.   
Julian attempted to smile but failed with another sneeze; Jackie giggled as she rubbed noses with her son before looking at him “…we’re gonna be fine, aren’t we?” she asked him.  
The baby simply looked at his mother, blinking for a moment.   
Jackie smiled “Yeah, we’re gonna be just fine.” She told him softly, reassuring herself.

 

Jackie washed off the rest of Julian’s body and was about to pull him out of the sink when a hand came up and grabbed Jackie from behind.  
She screamed, Julian cried and Crane pulled his mask away from his face “I’m sorry!” he told her.  
“What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling Julian out of the sink and towards the towel that was ready for the naked baby.   
Crane pushed Jackie’s hands away as he tried his son and held him close “We don’t have a lot of time…I need you to pack yours and Julian’s stuff and I need you in my car downstairs in less than two minutes!” he told her.  
Jackie looked at him confused “I don’t understand.” She said.  
“Just…do it! I’ll explain in the car, leaving the bathroom with Julian in his hands.

 

The gray BMW outside the Wayne Manor was humming, with a driver waiting for them as Crane swiftly carried Julian in his car seat.  
“Jonathan, what’s going on?” Jackie asked, walking down the stairs; she turned to Alfred who had held the door open for them “Bye…” she yelled before walking over to the car.  
Crane opened the backseat and hurried along with getting Julian buckled in; he threw in Jackie and Julian’s suitcases in the trunk and slightly pushed Jackie in the backseat.  
“Buckle in.” he said softly before slamming the door, getting into the front passenger seat and telling the driver to go.  
Jackie buckled in, watching Julian as he relaxed in his car seat before looking up to see Jonathan Crane and Edward Nigma in the front.  
“Jon?” Jackie asked softly.  
Edward turned to the backseat and smiled at Jackie “Hey, Ballerina…” he said in a joking manner.  
“I don’t go by that anymore…” Jackie said sternly.  
Edward chuckled, turning back to the street and looking at her through the rear view mirror “Well that’s what The Joker still calls you.” He said.  
It began to click in Jackie’s mind as she glared at Crane, who didn’t bother look at her “…Jonathan, what did you do?” she asked sternly.  
Jonathan didn’t say anything, he looked at Edward aka The Riddler “How far away is the hideout from here?” he asked.  
“…just 30 minutes.” Edward assured Crane, speeding through the city of Gotham.  
Jackie was getting furious “WHAT DID YOU DO, JONATHAN CRANE!?” she yelled, waking up Julian.  
Jonathan turned to her “Nothing, I did nothing!!” he told her.  
“You must’ve done something, otherwise we wouldn’t be hiding out from I’m guessing The Joker.” Jackie hissed at him.  
The Riddler sighed “…it wasn’t him, it was The Joker…wants your head for ‘ruining’ his operation with Batman.” He said.  
Jackie turned to Crane and sighed “What?” she asked.  
Crane sighed, combing his hand through his hair “We’re going to war, Jackie…” he said.  
Jackie sat back in her head, she relaxed Julian enough to get him to stop crying; she thought about everything; if Joker was going to war with Crane and her; what about Bruce and Alfred?  
“Bruce and Alfred?” she asked.  
Crane sighed “…I doubt he’ll hurt them. It’s a personal matter—and I’m pretty sure they can take care of themselves.” He said.  
Jackie scuffed, their reunion wasn’t romantic; in face she wanted to punt his head across the city of Gotham.


	4. Chapter Four

The hideout wasn't an apartment or an underground lair, somehow Crane and The Riddler found a cottage on the far outskirts of Gotham.

The cottage was surrounded by a lake with lots of beautiful trees and lovely green grass; and you could see the sun setting miles away.

It was beautiful.

Crane was at a loss for words in the living room with Edward, who was reading on the couch across from Crane.

"…she *did* warn you…" Edward said after a few minutes of silence.

Crane sighed "I know." He said, beginning to lie on the couch and stare up at the ceiling.

Edward smiled as he looked up from his book "…but it's not like she can leave you forever—she can't just 'disappear'…not with your son." He assured him.

"At least we're not shacked up in a crappy apartment with Harley Quinn and Joker…seriously, those two are..." Crane stopped and thought of a word.

Edward smirked "Insane?"

Crane looked up at Edward "Well, yeah…but—"

"We're all insane, but they just go seriously overboard." Edward said before looking back down at his book "…but you're main concern should be your girl and your son. It's weird knowing a super villain who has a kid." He continued to say.

Crane shook his head "…yeah, it's weird being one." He said, getting off of the couch.

Jackie stared up at the ceiling remembering the year she had had at Arkham, and the meds they had put her on.

She liked not being told what to do and when to do it, she smiles to herself as she closed her eyes to relax for a moment.

"JACKIE!" she heard somebody screaming, Jackie's eye shot open and she sat up in the bed heaving from the shock.

There was nothing around and Julian was asleep in the crib across from her bed.

Jackie listened for a moment before whispers began to echo throughout the room even if there was nobody else in the bedroom.

"…Jackie…" a whispered called out.

Jackie turned towards the wide open window to see The Joker standing next to the window.

"There you are…" The Joker remarked, smiling at Jackie as he walked towards her.

Jackie fell off the bed, completely shocked by what she was seeing as she backed herself into the wall; yet she could yell for help.

The Joker pulled out a gun from his pocket and checked to see if there were any bullets in the gun "…I'm sorry, Jackie. But this is all strictly business—I'm going to have to turn your little boy into an orphan, just like I did with you." He said before pointing the gun at Jackie.

Jackie screamed as she covered her head.

The door busted open "JACKIE!" Crane yelled, turning to the scare girl in the corner as she covered her head.

"…Jackie?" Crane asked, kneeling down next to her.

Jackie looked up to see that nothing was in front of her as she slowly got up off of the floor.

Julian was crying from Jackie's screaming, she sighed heavily as she went to the crib to retrieve Julian and rock him softly back to sleep.

"You're not going to tell me what happened?" Crane asked.

Jackie shook her head "No." she remarked.

Crane sighed heavily "Why not?" he asked

"Because nothing happened! It was all in my head, okay?" Jackie hissed, walking out of the bedroom.

The Riddler sat on the couch, watching Crane and Jackie argue with Julian in her arms.

"Well is it the Schizophrenia? Cause we can go get your meds!" Crane suggested, following Jackie into the kitchen.

Jackie rolled her eyes "I don't need your help!" she yelled.

Crane's hands turned into fists "Yes. You do! You're not well, Jackie…" he told her.

Jackie turned to him fiercely, Edward could tell something was about to go down as he pushed himself off the couch to softly take Julian out of Jackie's arms.

"Let me tell you something Crane, I can take care of myself alright? In the town of Gotham I've got plenty of people watching me *very* closely…I don't need some—some attention seeking villain telling me what I do and don't need!" she said before pushing him into the wall.

Crane and Edward watched as Jackie walked out of the house and towards the lake.

"…give her time." Edward remarked softly as he returned Julian to his crib.

Crane looked out the window and watched Jackie sit on the edge of the water at the lake, she was tense and frustrated and he knew that; but he was just trying to help.

Edward sighed "You should probably call somebody who can get into Arkham and get her meds—just try and be sneaky about it." He said.

Crane turned to Edward "And what makes you think she'd be okay with that, Nigma?" he asked.

Edward shrugged his shoulders "Your situation with Jackie is complicated; she was taken from a rather secure and comfy environment RIGHT after leaving a mental asylum and told that she has to hide from something that is, quite frankly, beyond her." He explained.

Crane thought about it for a moment, he turned back to Jackie and watched her watch the lake and the smooth current of it all.

"Before you know it, The Ballerina is gonna pop her head out…because if things get really dirty, she's going to have to become the bad guy to protect herself and her son." He said before walking into the kitchen.

Crane sighed "That's my job!" he said after a moment of silence.

"What is?" Edward asked.

Crane cleared his throat "Protecting her and Julian…" he said.

Edward laughed "Oh, yeah? I don't think she'll let that happen…first you've got to protect dear Jackie from herself." He said.

Crane just stared at Edward for a moment, he sighed before grabbing the car keys and nodding at Edward "I'll be back." He remarked softly.

Edward watched Crane grab his coat and glasses and leave the house, walking towards the car.

He looked at Jackie, whose head tilted a bit as Crane unlocked the car and got inside; Edward didn't know where he was going, but he knew that things were about to start spinning.


	5. Chapter Five

Jackie was asleep in the bedroom, the door open wide so Edward could hear for Julian right as Crane walked through the door.

"…and where the hell have you been?" he asked, walking towards Crane.

Crane pulled the bottle of pills our from his suit pocket and handed them to Edward, he smiled his cocky smile before turning to the bedroom where Jackie slept.

Edward looked at the bottle of pills "What am I supposed to do with these?" he whispered.

Crane turned to Edward "Tomorrow, you're making Pancakes. Crush them up and put them in with the batter, along with her glass of milk." He said before walking towards the couch, taking off his suit coat.

"…that might actually work." Edward said, putting them in the back of a cupboard full of measuring cups.

Crane laid on the couch, kicking his shoes off as he did before he looked towards the bedroom where he saw Julian moving around in his crib.

Edward followed Crane's trail to the bedroom, watching Julian move about in his crib, not sleeping.

Crane got up off the couch and walked into the bedroom slowly and softly before he turned to Jackie as he stood next to the crib, he watched her as her toes curled in as she slept; he always thought that was sexy.

He turned to Julian who was looking up at his musical mobile that had Snoopy and Woodstock posing above him.

Crane smiled as he looked in the crib, he leaned in and touched Julian's hand "…I'm so sorry Jules. Your mom is Schizophrenic and your dad's a career villain. Your chance of a normal childhood is over." He whispered to his son.

Jackie's eyes softly opened in the dark, lying still as she listened to Crane talk to their son.

"But I promise that I'll do the best I can to take care of you and your mom; even if she hates me sometimes—no, she hates me all the time." Crane said, smiling to his son for a moment.

Julian smiled at his father, beginning to make talking noises to his dad.

Crane chuckled as he stroked Julian's cheek "Go to bed, Jules. I'll see you in the morning. I'll move Boo Boo next to you, okay?" He said, winding up the musical mobile one more time before moving the teddy bear next to Julian then walked out of the bedroom.

"That was…interesting." Edward said, getting up off the couch.

Crane smirked "Don't get sarcastic with me." He said.

Edward shook his head "No, I actually felt a tear swell up." He said with a cocky smile.

Crane punched his shoulder, Edward chuckled as he looked at his watch "Well I'm going out for a couple hours. I'll be back before dawn." He said, grabbing his fedora hat and walking out of the house.

He heard the door lock before he laid back down on the couch, finally relaxing for the night.

The smell of pancakes filled the house as Jackie woke up, Julian was reaching out for Boo Boo in his crib.

Jackie leaned up in the bed, rubbing her eyes as she stretched, listening to Julian blow bubbles with his mouth as he continued to reach out to his friend.

"Oh Jilly." Jackie muttered, getting out of bed to meet her son for the morning.

Julian grabbed Boo Boo's foot attempting to pull it towards him only to have the teddy bear land on top of him.

His cried echoed throughout the house, alerting all three members that were in the house.

Jackie jumped out of bed towards the crib, she laughed as she grabbed Boo Boo and picked him up and opened the crib door to let Julian out.

"Aww, baby boy." Jackie remarked, picking Julian up from the crib.

Crane swiftly walked in to retrieve the crying newborn only to see Jackie had gotten to him first.

Jackie rocked him against her shoulder as she looked at Crane with her blue eyes almost hiding behind the crying Julian.

"Is he alright?" Crane asked.

Jackie nodded "Yeah, he just got into a little altercation with Boo Boo…yes, you did. It's alright baby." She said, talking to her son for a moment.

Crane rubbed Julian's cheek before softly taking him out of Jackie's hands "There are pancakes waiting for you." He said, smiling as he left the bedroom with Julian in his arms.

Jackie slowly walked out of the bedroom to see an open kitchen with steaming pancakes and sausage links ready to go with syrup and glasses of milk sitting next to each plate; it was the ideal family breakfast.

Edward took three pancakes and set them on his plate, turning to Jackie and smiles brightly "Just made them." He said.

Crane bounced Julian on his leg as he reached out for two pancakes while he balanced the baby on his knee.

"I'll make Jilly a bottle." Jackie remarked softly, walking into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle.

Edward swallowed half of his first pancake "Shall we get the baby bouncing chair out? You can't eat and hold a baby at the same time!" he told Crane.

Crane smirked "Watch me." He said, shoving a piece of pancake in his mouth.

"Enough you two…Ed, if you want to get the bouncy chair that's fine with me." Jackie said, retrieving a bottle and beginning to mix the ingredients together.

The Riddler smiled as he continued his breakfast, looking at the baby as he stared wide eyed at him.

"…what are you looking at?" he said in a cooing baby voice, smiling brightly at the baby.

Julian smiled as he looked up at Crane, who smiled at him as he ate another piece of his breakfast "I know, he's funny isn't he?" he said to Julian.

Jackie joined the table, softly taking Julian from Crane to feed him while she glared at her breakfast quietly not making eye contact with either Edward or Jonathan while she began to bounce Julian on her knee.

Edward and Crane turned to each other before going back to their breakfasts; they both knew that Jonathan had to make a serious first move for the tension to go away.


	6. Chapter Six

Jackie watched Julian as he bounced in his Bouncer, smiling to himself as he played and watched Jackie.

Crane sat next to Jackie against the couch, watching Julian as he held onto Boo Boo; almost cuddling with the soft animal as he watched his son.

It was quiet while they both watched Julian; Jackie cleared her throat and turned to Crane "…I heard you said," she spoke softly.

Crane turned to her, confused as he played with Boo Boo, his glasses somewhat hiding his fear of what she was talking about.

"…about me hating you all the time." Jackie went on to say, turning back to Julian who stopped bouncing and looked at Crane.

Jackie turned to him "I don't hate you; I'm just—frustrated, Jonathan!" she confessed to him; her entire body shifting towards him.

"I'm scared. I'm confused, frightened…" she whispered to him, turning away to hide the forming tears.

Jonathan softly grabbed a hold of her arm and made him face her again "You have nothing to be afraid of! Jackie, I love you, and I love Julian; and I would give anything to make sure you both were and are safe." He told her, taking her hand softly.

Jackie wiped away a tear that started streaming down her face, noticing that beyond Crane's glasses he too was letting a tear fall down his cheek.

"Why are you crying?" Jackie asked, smiling to herself.

Crane shook his head "Cause I'm sorry, why are you crying?" he asked.

Jackie looked back to Julian and sighed "…I'm gonna blame post-partum depression." She remarked.

Crane smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek as he chuckled at her "Well don't…and kiss me." He told her.

Jackie turned and kissed Crane softly, combing her fingers through his hair as she did while he leaned in to kiss her a little more passionately.

Crane began to push Jackie on the carpet as he continued to kiss her, trying not to move Julian as he began to make out with the mother of his son; just then Julian ruined the moment.

They could tell by the sound of it that Julian was in need of a diaper change; they remained quiet as they stopped kissing and looked at each other.

"OH MY GOD-I could hear that from over here! What did you feed him, Jackie!" Edward asked from the back bedroom.

Jackie turned to Julian who giggled as he reached out for his foot; she cleared her throat once again before she got up off the floor and walked away towards the kitchen.

"Oh, that is not fair! You cannot leave me this one!" Crane said, sitting back up against the couch.

Jackie smirked as she opened the fridge and pretended to be busy to throw the diaper change on Crane, who turned to his son and grimaced "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" he asked.

Julian giggled as he looked at his father, who sighed and unbuckled Julian from his seat "Yeah, you want mom *all* to yourself so you ruin my mommy time. Ruthless child!" he said, walking into the bedroom.

"Just like his father!" Jackie remarked, giggling as Crane gave her an evil eye.

They lied in bed, Julian was asleep in the crib and all Jackie and Crane did was look into each others eyes.

Jackie moved closer and began to nip at Crane's neck, teasing him as she pushed her knee against his private area, causing him to moan softly; pushing her knee away from his are.

"Not with Julian in the room." Crane told her, scooting closer to her in the bed.

Jackie shook her head "I swear, you lost all your cool points when he was born." She said, cuddling with Crane.

Crane smiled as he stroked her hair "Not entirely, maybe we can get away long enough tomorrow to have some 'mommy and daddy' time." He whispered to her.

Jackie smiled as she kissed him "Okay." She whispered softly to him.

Crane stroked her hair as he continued to look in her arms, he smiled as he kissed again "I love you." He whispered to her.

Jackie smiled as she rested her arm against his chest, looking into his eyes while they enjoyed the sound of silence in their bedroom.

He watched her sleep peacefully; she was curled up against his chest in bed the following morning.

Crane smiled as he brushed noses with her softly, feeling her breathing against his skin as he held her close.

"Jon?" she whispered, slowly opening her eyes to meet his.

Crane smiled back at her as he stroked her arm "…tell me a story." He told her.

"A story?" she asked him.

Crane nodded "Tell me something about—I don't know, better days." He said, moving closer to her.

Jackie smiled as she thought for a moment "…well, I remember when…when I had just gone to live with Alfred and Bruce." She said, remembering everything.

"I was fifteen, and The Joker was reeking havoc in Gotham…I had gotten involved with Batman and I remember I snuck out of class to go to Commissioner Loeb's funeral…I watched Gordon get shot." She muttered softly.

Crane could tell she was remembering the whole ordeal; Jackie took a deep breathe as she relaxed for a moment.

"I cried for days…and then I was with Batman and right when I thought we were both gonners-he showed up. And I don't think I've ever felt so safe in my entire life than in that moment." Jackie muttered softly.

Crane took her hand and smiled "…because you had your team." He told her.

Jackie shook her head "No, I think Batman had his team."

"…then who is your team?" Crane asked, leaning in closer to Jackie before he kissed her passionately.

He rolled on top of her softly, his kiss getting in more depth as he stroked her hair softly as he did.

Jackie giggled as she pushed Crane away "…what did you say about not doing 'it' with Julian in the room?" she asked, mocking him and his words.

Crane cocked an eye brow as he looked at her "…you're hilarious." He said, rolling off of his girlfriend and lying in bed.


	7. Chapter Seven

Jackie looked at her watch again, she wasn't trying to be inpatient but Crane was taking a lot longer than just a second.

"Jonathan, we're going to be late!" Jackie remarked, walking back into the bedroom to see him reading to Julian softly.

She watched quietly as Crane finished the book, closing it softly and looking through the bars of Julian's crib; he smiled at he son and stroked his tiny hands.

"I'll see you in the morning; be good for Uncle Ed, alright?" Crane spoke softly, putting the book on the changing table and turned to the door where Jackie was waiting, smiling to herself as she looked at him.

Crane took her hand and kissed it "Are you ready?" he asked.

Jackie nodded "Yeah. Are you?" she asked.

Crane nodded "Ready as I'll ever be." He told her.

Jackie's eyes were covered by a cloth as Crane guided her to the secret location of their date, she giggled to herself as she felt around for something to grab a hold of.

"Hold on, let me get the door." Crane whispered, unlocking the door before guiding her inside.

Crane closed the door behind him and guided her farther down the hallway and into the open dining room before he removed the cloth from her eyes.

Jackie gasped as she saw the romantic setting, the dimly lit candles with the one slice of cake in the middle of the round table.

"Just one slice?" she asked sarcastically, turning to Crane.

Crane smiled as he guided her to the table "I'm not expecting you to eat very much…" he told her, sitting her down in one of the chairs.

Jackie turned to him cautiously "Why?" she asked.

Crane grabbed a small box from the table and taunted her with her; he looked up at her then back at the small box before he finally got down on one knee.

"Jacqueline Virginia Gibbard, you got me to fall in love with you; and you gave me my first and hopefully not only son—and I was wondering if you'd, umm…" Crane opened the box and showed her the precious diamond ring.

"…will you marry me? Be my wife? Put up with me until me demise…or another stint in Arkham." Crane asked, looking up at her.

Jackie laughed at his last remark, she took in a deep breathe trying not to get emotional as she nodded softly "Yes, Jonathan, I'll marry you." She told him.

Crane smiled as he placed the ring on her finger, looking up at her before finally kissing her.

"I love you." Crane whispered to her.

Jackie smiled "I love you too…and you know what, you were right!" she remarked.

Crane cocked an eye brow "About what?" he asked.

"Not wanting to eat…cause now I just want to rip your clothes off and fuck you." Jackie remarked; a familiar hunger in her eyes as she stood up and grabbed Crane by his tie.

Crane smiled "Really? So do I!" he said, pushing her towards the bedroom in the back.

The headboard continued to be thrusted against the wall as Jackie rode him like there was no tomorrow; Crane had his hands firmly placed on Jackie's waist as he let her fuck him.

Crane was up against the headboard as he watched his bride-to-be jiggle against him; even though her thin black dress still covered her entire body.

Jackie's thin dress straps were down her arms as she tilted back while riding up and down against his shaft, she hadn't felt his touch in a long time and it showed.

"Oh my god, Jonathan…" Jackie moaned, feeling her climax take her over as she stopped and fell against his shoulder.

Crane smiled as he rolled Jackie back onto the bed, slowly taking off her dress before he began to thrust into his fiancée, giving her tender and loving thrusts as she held onto him.

"Dr. Crane…" Jackie muttered, kissing his lips as her right leg moved up the length of his body.

Crane smiled as he thrusted into her "Mrs. Crane…" he muttered back to her, passionately kissing her as he continued to make love to her.

Jackie gasped for air as sweat glistened off her body as Crane thrusted in and out of her; keeping the focus on her while the open windows of Crane's apartment showed the light of the city of Gotham.

"…Jon—Jonat-JONATHAN!" Jackie moaned, her climax hit her harder than expected as Jonathan picked up his pace; getting to climax deep inside of her.

Crane held her close as he did, looking into her blue eyes as he kissed her, thrusting the entire bed against the wall as much as he was her.

Jackie wrapped her arm around Crane as he felt the coil within him release his cum inside of Jackie; letting a loud moan out as he did.

Meanwhile, outside as Crane climaxed a building exploded caddy-corner from their apartment complex; they both turned to see the new flash of light before their eyes as they slowly dressed in their undergarments and looked to see what it was.

Jackie but her hand on the glass as she looked down at the streets, Crane held her waist closely as he looked down as well; seeing the horror begin for the night in Gotham.

Crane took a shallow breathe, Jackie could feel him get tense as they both saw the lanky figure of The Joker laughing with his minions as he stood close to the burning building.

"We need to go!" Crane said, turning away to get dressed.

Jackie softly turned to him "…and how are we going to do that when he's standing right there?" she asked him.

Crane looked up at Jackie and sighed "…well we have to leave the apartment at least—nobody should see us." He spoke softly.

"...and then what? We hide in a little closet until the morning?" Jackie asked, almost mocking him and his efforts.

He took in a deep breathe before he sighed roughly "Jackie…please!" he told her.

Jackie nodded "Fine, I'll go get ready." She remarked.


	8. Chapter Eight

Crane looked over the edge of the brick wall with Jackie leaning against it as they looked out for Joker's thugs or The Joker himself.

Jackie relaxed, looking at the shadows on the other buildings; listening to the shouts of the thugs from across the street; she took Crane's hand softly before he turned to her.

"Do what you have to do." Jackie whispered to him, looking him in the eyes and trying to find a plan in his eyes.

Crane stroked her hair, trying to keep her calm while his mind wandered; figuring out a plan to get them out of dodge when the police sirens began to approach and echo throughout the street block.

They both flinched; looking around before it dawned on them back had just happened.

Jackie giggled as she squeezed Jonathan's hand "It's funny…I guess old habits die hard." She told him.

"Just for you…me, I still do damage to the streets of Gotham." Crane told her, going in for a kiss as the sirens got louder.

Crane pulled away from the kiss as the Gotham police pulled up to the block, getting out of their cars and pointing their guns at Joker, who was watching the building burn.

"OH…it's about time you boys showed up." They heard Joker yell from around the corner.

They both moved back to the edge to watch the scene unfold; The Joker being his snarky and maniacal self with his goons by his side.

Gotham police were at a loss for words as they tried to protect themselves from the villain and Jonathan along with Jackie could tell as they back farther into the back alley.

There was no other way out except to go back into the loft complex and Crane wasn't about to put his fiancée and himself in that type of danger; he knew they were both safe in the three brick walls of the back alley.

The Joker laughed as he began to make a show down with the cops as both Crane and Jackie watched; gripping each other with anticipation as they did.

"I don't know what to say boys…I'm quite…bored! Tell Batman I need him." The Joker remarked, walking backwards with his thugs.

Another large explosion made the city glow bright, blinding everyone as another building perished.

Jackie fell back against the cold concrete of the Gotham street, trying to regain her vision while Crane watched as The Joker and his thugs ran away; leaving the Gotham PD with the mess.

He turned to Jackie with a straight look on his face as he helped her up "Alright, lets go." He remarked.

Jackie blinked constantly from her blurry vision while Crane walked past the cops in the shadows and carefully began to creep to the parking garage where the car had been parked.

"So much for a romantic evening." Jackie whispered to him.

Crane kissed her forehead "I'm sorry."

They were in bed, Julian was peacefully asleep, and they house was completely quiet as Crane laid on top of Jackie.

He was stroking her facial features with his thumb, nuzzling his face in her neck as he kissed her.

Jackie held onto his wrist as she enjoyed his touch in the dark, but her thoughts were lingering somewhere else; and little did she know that Jonathan Crane was doing the same thing.

They looked into each other's eyes, worrying about the events from earlier right when Jackie's Blackberry vibrated against the nightstand.

Jackie turned, and pushed Crane aside as she grabbed her phone and looked to see who was calling her for the first time since she had to refuge; she gagged as she answered the call.

"Seriously?" she asked, pushing the sheets away.

"Turn on the TV…" Bruce said.

Jackie cocked an eye brow "Why?" she asked.

"You've got to see it." Bruce remarked, clearing his throat.

Jackie scuffed as she pushed herself off of the bed and softly walked into the living room; leaving Crane alone in the bed.

She turned on the TV and sat on the couch "Am I sure I want to see this…whatever it is." She said sarcastically, not amused with the late night call.

Bruce smiled "Oh—you want to see this."

The news blared the report of Wayne Enterprise bursting into flames; Jackie was in shock "…what did you do!" she yelled, sitting up on the couch.

Crane came out of the bedroom, adjusting to the light as he put on his glasses and came to see what Jackie was making a commotion about.

"It had to be done…The Joker was…well, it's complicated." Bruce tried to explain while Jackie kept her eyes glued to the T.V.

Jackie gasped, choking on her breathe as she tried to comprehend what was going on.

"…there goes my inheritance!" Jackie muttered, upset now and beyond more words and shock.

"No…we can always rebuild!" Bruce assured her.

Jackie was once against furious, going back to her original feeling "Rebuild? REBUILD! That building—that *EMPIRE* has gone through three generations…before me! And you say 'rebuild it'? That's all you got?" she remarked.

Bruce sighed heavily, knowing there were greater worries than watching Wayne Enterprises burn to the ground on national television.

"Jackie…he's onto you…you and Jon need to start building…" he remarked softly.

Jackie bit her lip "Build what?" she asked.

"An army…" Bruce told her.

She almost choked on air as she began to feel tears softly swell in her eyes "How serious is this going to get?" she asked.

Bruce held back, he didn't want to be completely honest with her yet he knew that keeping her in the dark would risk her life.

"The Joker is searching for Crane…searching a 25 miles radius around Gotham, Jackie there's not a lot of time; you need to start looking for another hide out." Bruce requested of her.

Jackie nodded "Okay, I'll see what I can do." She said before hanging up the phone.

Crane eyed the TV while trying to ignore the silence next to him; he could feel the air change in the room.

"…we need to leave." Jackie finally spoke after a minute of silence.

Crane turned to her "Where are we going to go?" he asked her.

Jackie shrugged her shoulders "Anywhere but here."


	9. Chapter Nine

The door bell echoed through the Manor, it made Crane flinch a little as he waited by the door.

Crane took in a deep breathe as the door opened; coming eye to eye with the Butler of the house.

"Is he in?" Crane asked.

The butler looked over Crane's shoulder to see Jackie, with Julian in her arms; and The Riddler behind him.

"Come in." he said, stepping out of the way.

Crane took Jackie's hand as they walked into the mansion; Edward followed behind not agreeing with Crane's plan yet keeping his mouth shut, 'Anything for Julian' he told them.

Jackie looked around the mansion while they walked with the butler into the living room where a rather familiar man sat with a glass of Scotch.

"Sir, Dr. Crane is here…" the butler said before exiting the room.

Jackie turned to see the man sitting in the chair; he cleared his throat as he looked up to Crane and company.

Dr. Crane, how long has it been?" Ra's Al Ghul asked, smirking at Crane.

"…not long enough, Ra's…." Crane asked, walking up to Ra's and shaking his hand.

Ra's smiled and stood up from his chair "So what brings the visit?" he looked over Crane's shoulder to see Jackie and Ed behind.

"We need help." Crane said softly.

Ra's walked past Crane to see Julian being held in Jackie's arms; making eye contact with the child before he smiled brightly.

"I see you two have been busy," he said, looking back to Crane before reaching out for the baby.

Jackie softly handed Julian to Ra's and looked at Crane, who kept his eyes on Ra's the entire time.

"So, what can I help you with Crane?" Ra's asked, turning back to Crane.

Crane crossed his arms "The Joker…" he said.

Ra's cocked an eye brow "Yes. Word has been going around that he wants your head—and your beloveds." He said, turning to Jackie.

Jackie cleared her throat softly "We need…" she looked into Ra's eyes as he held her son.

"We need an army." Jackie said, standing tall and strong as she looked at Ra's.

Ra's smiled "Take a seat, all three of you." He asked, bouncing Julian as he guided the three of them to the couch.

"Do you plan on going to war with him?" he asked, sitting down on the chair with Julian.

Crane nodded "Yes." He said.

Ra's nodded "Then I guess we're going to need to start making calls." He got up off the couch with Julian.

"Let me go get my book, lets see who can help you out." He said, handing Julian back to Jackie.

Jackie turned to Crane as Ra's left the room "How do you know him?" she asked.

Crane thought for a moment "A long time ago…we worked together to destroy Gotham…and we both got our asses kicked by Batman." He told her.

"Oh…" Jackie said, looking down at Julian.

Crane took her hand "Before you…" he told her.

"There once was a Batman…without the girl…" she said, almost as if she was telling Julian a bedtime story.

Julian giggled, hitting Jackie's hand as he did.

Crane kissed Jackie and stroked her hair "We're going to get through this." He whispered to her

Ed cleared his throat "Please get a room…" he said.

Jackie and Crane turned to him, Ed shrugged his shoulders "You two are like…Morticia and Gomez Adams…it's disgusting!"

"…just wait until we get home." Jackie teased.

Ed smirked "I thought we weren't going home." He told her.

Jackie lost her smile as Ra's entered back into the room with his address book in hand.

"I might have a few names for you…lets see." Ra's said as he opened his book and read through the names.

Jackie bounced Julian on her knee as she waited for Ra's to begin a list of people that could help them.

Ra's looked up from his book "How about Bane?" he asked.

Ed and Crane turned to each other; silently discussing the option before turning back to Ra's and nodding together.

"Okay, then…hmm…how about Hugo?" Ra's asked.

Jackie let a small smile out "As is Professor Hugo Strange?" she asked.

Ra's nodded in response.

Crane shook his head "Uhh, no." he said.

"Why not?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Ed asked.

Crane shook his head "The man is crazy…"

Ra's cocked an eye brow "You do have a point, he's a bit...out there." He backed Crane up.

Jackie sighed "Okay, then…fine!" she remarked, adjusting Julian on her knee.

Ra's went back to his book "Oh…Dr. Victor Fries. Mostly known as Mister Freeze."

Jackie turned to Ed who shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Ra's who cleared is throat "He's new…" he muttered under his breathe.

Crane chuckled as he stood up from his seat "May I see this?' he asked Ra's as he reached out for the address book.

Ra's gave out the book and let Crane go through it, sharing it with Ed as Jackie and Ra's sat quietly.

"Jackie, would you like a drink, or are you hungry at all?" Ra's offered.

Jackie shook her head "Oh, no…I'm fine." She said.

Ra's shook his head 'Oh, no…that's nonsense! Come with me into the kitchen with Julian…" he said, getting up off his chair and assisting Jackie off the couch.

Jackie and Ra's walked into the kitchen with Julian in Jackie's arms; Ra's opened the fridge to see what he could offer Jackie.

"How about some water…or some Apple Juice for the little one?" Ra's asked, turning to Jackie.

Jackie shook her head "No, I'm fine."

Ra'a smiled as he closed the fridge "So how is it being with a maniac? Especially one like Dr. Crane?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

"Weren't you ever afraid of waking up one morning under one of his experimental drugs?" Ra's asked.

Jackie sighed "Not really…he did come up behind me and do it once-but…" she trailed off as she looked at Julian, who was then sleeping against her shoulder.

"…lets be honest, out of all the people in this house it's just you and I who know who Batman really is." Ra's said as he began to stand tall in front of Jackie.

Jackie's breathing began to shallow "Is that something you're going to hold against me?" she asked.

"I don't think so…but it makes you a very dangerous person…how *does* he trust you?" Ra's asked her.

"Who trusts me?" she asked.

Ra's smiled as he shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the kitchen leaving Jackie and Julian alone.

"…he's crazy…" Jackie whispered to herself as she looked down at Julian.


	10. Chapter Ten

Her eyes shot open at the dawn of morning, her fingers laced with Crane's as he slept, his hair a mess.

Jackie sighed as she unlaced her fingers and slowly got out of bed to prevent waking Crane up.

She grabbed her navy blue cardigan as she walked towards Julian's crib to see him sleeping soundly; Jackie reached out to touch him lightly as she walked out of the bedroom.

The dimly lit home was cold as Jackie stood in her nightgown, she held herself close before she walked out of the front door and towards the creek by the house.

Jackie sat on the swing and watched the sun rise as she listened to the water flow by; letting Jackie think clearly about her nightmare.

Her nightmare of The Joker and Harley tearing her body apart scared her to her core; she felt her imaginary demise meant something more; that it wasn't just stress that was provoking her dreams.

The stream glowed in the light as Jackie stared, admiring the sun coming up while she forgot everything that had happened the past few weeks.

"…Jackie?" Crane called off in the distance.

"I'm over here." Jackie remarked, looking over her shoulder for a second before turning back to the creek.

Crane stood next to Jackie "Are you alright?" he asked.

Jackie nodded "Yeah, just…damn nightmare." She remarked, laughing it off softly.

"You wanna talk about it?" Crane asked.

Jackie shook her head "No…" she muttered, looking up at Crane.

Crane smiled as he stroked her hair "Everything is going to be okay…" he assured her.

Jackie sighed, still staring at the creek "I hope so…" she said out loud.

Crane took his hand back, beginning to walk back towards the house slowly.

Jackie closed her eyes "Jon!" she stood up from the swing and turned to Crane, who turned back to her.

"…do you think we stand a chance? He…he has a lot of…'soldiers'…and we, we've got nothing!" Jackie asked, walking towards him.

Crane held Jackie close "…he's just one guy…with his girlfriend…" he said.

"…sounds like us…" Jackie said, looking up at Crane.

Crane nodded "Yes, with a friend…and a baby…so, we've got the upper hand!" he said.

Jackie laughed as she looked up at Crane "…what about Ra's…is he one of us?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd say so!" he said, leaning in to kiss her when they could both hear Julian cry from the open window in the bedroom.

Crane let out an exasperating sigh while Jackie giggled to herself.

"Julian Adrien Crane, the son of perfect timing." Crane remarked, letting go of his fiancé to walk back into the house.

Ed played with Julian as Crane and Jackie walked back into the house, the roommate ignored the both of them as he bounced Julian against his shoulder.

"Yes…Uncle Eddie is here—sorry, I left Boo Boo in the crib." He whispered, getting a bottle ready.

Crane cleared his throat before Ed turned to both him and Jackie; Crane smiled as he took out his phone and took a quick picture before putting it back in his Pajama pants pocket and smirking at him.

"I have nothing to hide!" Ed said, turning back to the counter.

Jackie walked over to the kitchen to help Ed with the bottle; watching Julian as he rested against Ed's shoulder.

Crane sighed as he watched the two of them before walking back into the bedroom to change; and to close the window since it was beginning to freeze the entire room.

Jackie sat on the couch, watching TV as she held Julian in her arms; expecting another lazy day around the house for her since she wasn't getting out much.

Crane was adjusting the collar on his jacket as he walked out of the bedroom, he looked outside of the window at the sunny day and sighed; he turned to Jackie who had cocked an eye brow.

"Where are you doing?" Jackie asked.

Crane smirked "Ed and I are going out for a bit…" he remarked.

Jackie's cocked eye brow began to form into an evil look "And I'm not going because…?"

"…you need a girls day?" Crane suggested.

Jackie sighed "Whatever…" she said, turning back to the T.V

Crane stopped and thought for a moment "…did I do something wrong?" he asked, walking towards her.

Julian tilted his head back, giggling at Crane who felt it was a sign that he pissed Jackie off.

Crane sat next to Jackie, putting his arm around her "…I love you, but I want you to have your space…" he told her.

"You mean you want *your* space." Jackie remarked.

Crane grabbed her wrist "Hey…I don't mean it that way." He told her.

Jackie turned to him "Y'know, I'd like to go out—go shopping—hang out with people, but I can't! I've sacrificed a lot to keep us all safe!" she remarked.

"Is that what's this is about…you not being able to go shopping?" Crane asked.

"…she's saying it's unfair that she has to stay and we get to go out…and do things…that aren't related to survival." Ed said from down the hall.

Jackie huffed "How can he get that but you can't?" she remarked.

Crane huffed "Look, I'm sorry…maybe next time we can get a baby sitter…and we-"

Jackie slapped him as she shook her head 'No, you've lost your chance..." she said, getting off the couch with Julian and walking into the bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

The sun was setting as Jackie sat on the living room floor with Julian; playing with her son as she giggled with him.

"What are you laughing at Jilly?" Jackie asked, giggling before giving Julian another raspberry on his belly.

Julian howled with laughter, shaking from it almost while Jackie giggled with him before a knock was heard at the door.

Jackie looked up, her body went tense as she slowly picked up Julian; not keeping her eyes off the door as she grabbed the gun from the coffee table shelf and got up off the floor.

She had the baby in one arm and the gun in the other as she pointed it at the door "…who is it?" she asked.

It was quiet on the other side of the door for a moment "…it's Gordon…and a few mutual friends…"


	11. Chapter Eleven

"I don't see why you had to wear the get-up." Jackie remarked, sipping on her tea with Gordon as she stared at Bruce.

Gordon smirked "…oh, the ride over was, umm…interesting." He said.

Batman sighed heavily, with his small cup of tea "What choice do I have?" in his husky voice.

Jackie turned to Gordon "I really think it would benefit all if you just knew who he was…" she proposed.

"I doubt it…it would jeopardize a lot!" Gordon remarked.

Jackie sighed as she relaxed on the couch "…either way, Jon is going to have a fit when he gets home…seeing the Tumbler in our driveway…" she said, smiling to herself.

Batman chuckled as he held Julian closer to his suit "Well, he'll get over it. How is he anyway?" he asked.

Gordon and Jackie turned to each other, smirking as Jackie turned to Batman, losing her smile "…he's…I don't know." She said, looking down at her tea cup.

"I feel like…he doesn't appreciate me anymore. Y'know, he takes the time to pull me out of my life and throw me in an isolated spot…and leave me here." She said, almost tearing up.

Jackie brushed it away "He goes out some nights…and I don't know where he is—and he won't tell me. I get so angry sometimes…" she said, looking back up to Batman; seeing past the suit to see Bruce staring back at her.

"I just wish he could feel my pain." Jackie went on to say.

Gordon took her hand and stroked it "It's going to be alright. Maybe…maybe you could start college online? Just to pass the time?" he asked.

Batman nodded "It would be good for you; Bruce and Alfred would be pleased!" he encouraged.

Jackie's jaw was unhinged as she thought of something to say "…how could I pay for it? Have the time? The Joker is out there *looking* for my head." She said.

"I've got tabs on The Joker AND Harley…you just leave them to me. You're my battle…" Batman said.

Gordon sighed as he watched Jackie and Batman look at each other; like there was something more than just Hero and sidekick.

"Let me see the baby! Come here, dear Julian!" Gordon remarked, reaching out for Julian while Batman passed the baby in his large suit that Jackie was all-to familiar with.

Gordon sighed "You could leave him…nothing's really stopping you right at this moment…we can squeeze you into the Tumbler." He said, looking at Julian.

"You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you—and those eyes…" Gordon said Julian.

Jackie took in a deep breathe as she turned to Batman, who looked back at her.

Crane and Ed came home from the rather long night; the house was uneasily quiet and Crane felt the emptiness of the house.

"Jackie?" Crane called out; only to hear nothing.

Ed walked into the bedroom to see the room was bare of anything from Jackie or Julian.

He turned to the changing station to find a note with something keeping it from blowing away with the wind; Ed reached for the note and grabbed the shiny object holding it down.

Ed got a look at the diamond ring and sighed; looking at the note that only read two words: Fuck You.

"…Jon…" he remarked, walking back into the living room where Crane caught up to Ed.

He handed him the note and the ring "…she's gone." Ed told him.

Crane looked up and crumpled up the note, his loss for words couldn't contain his anger as he punched a hole through the wall next to him.

Ed sighed "…any ideas where she could be?" he asked.

Crane thought for a moment "Oh…I know exactly where she is." He remarked.

Jackie laid in bed, with Julian next to her side; the 5-month old was astonishing to her as he continued to glare her down.

"…things are going to be different Jilly…if not for the worst; then the better." She spoke, holding his tiny hand.

Julian yawned as he rolled over to face the other side of the bedroom, falling asleep faster than ever before.

Jackie softly scooped up the baby and put him in his old crib with Boo Boo sitting right next to his head; positioned just right to keep the baby comfort.

A knock came at the door before he opened softly "…I made you dinner…if you're hungry." Alfred said.

Jackie nodded "I'll be down in a minute." She assured him.

Alfred smiled as he took a step forward "I'm glad you're back. The thought of not knowing where you were and how you were…it concerned me." He confessed to her.

Jackie twined up Julian's mobile and walked towards Alfred "…it was lonely, that's for sure." She said, before walking out of the room with Alfred.

The two of them walked down the stairs softly, in the quietness of the house that felt rather surreal to Jackie as she made her way to the kitchen.

Alfred sighed "If you're thirsty, I can pour you a glass of water…maybe some tea?" he asked.

"Tea sounds find, Alfred…" Jackie said before taking the plate of chicken and potatoes to the table where she sat alone; or so she thought.

Alfred placed the glass of tea next to her before sitting next to her "I doubt Jonathan will be pleased that you've left." He said, trying to start a conversation.

"No, he won't…" Jackie muttered as she took a bite of her dinner.

"...Master Wayne and I were discussing that, well, since you're back in Gotham, you should change your looks. So that way you won't be such a moving target." Alfred continued.

Jackie turned to Alfred "…like Plastic Surgery?" she asked.

Alfred shook his head "No-no…like your hair, make up…clothes!" he suggested, taking her hand.

Jackie sighed as she took Alfred's hand "…I'm being honest; I don't think I'm going to leave this house much…" she confessed to him.

"…that puts me more at ease, Jackie." Alfred said, patting her hand before leaving the table.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Jackie glared herself down in the mirror of her bathroom, her blue eyes glimmered from her light blue shirt.

Her now orange hair color made her pop out like a balloon, but she didn't expect herself to leave the house much so it didn't bother her while he tussled her hair around for a moment before pulling it all back into a ponytail.

"Julian!" Jackie said in her baby talk as she turned to see Julian in his bouncy seat; smiling at her.

Jackie made faces at her son while she walked out the bathroom and into her bedroom.

"You wanna go play outside? On the swings?" she asked, looking up and out her window; it was a particular foggy day, but those were always her favorites and hoped they would be his too.

Jackie picked Julian out of his seat and grabbed her coat before exiting her bedroom towards the back of Wayne Manor.

It was only the tap of her shoes that echoed through the house since Alfred took Bruce to go see Lucius; something about an upgrade on the Batsuit.

Jackie made faces at Julian as she opened the back doors wide and walked down the steep flight of stairs to get to the backyard; covered in a garden and an old swing set that belonged to Bruce a long time ago.

He polished it up for Julian when they got home.

Jackie softly put the baby in the baby swing and gave him a soft push before sitting in the open swing next to him; tugging on the swing as they swung together.

Julian looked up at the sky, laughing at the birds in the sky before sneezed and looked back down towards the green grass.

"…Jilly…" Jackie called, having him look at her; she giggled as she swung him softly with her.

Julian patted the rubber of the swing as he smiled at her.

Jackie let go of Julian's swing to let him swing on his own for awhile so she could think to herself in this moment of solitude.

Julian was beginning to get rather quiet over in his swing as Jackie thought to herself; and then she thought about Julian become quiet as she turned to her son; who had passed out in his swing.

"You cannot be serious!" Jackie spoke to him.

Jackie sighed as she got up from her seat and softly pulled Julian out, who immediately snapped out of his trance.

"Well hello there…did you have a nice nap?" Jackie asked in her baby voice; Julian answered with a mutter.

Jackie giggled as she turned back towards Wayne Manor, hearing Bruce's car come up the drive way as she began to climb up the flight of stairs.

"Alfred, I'm feeling like some soup for lunch." Bruce said, taking off his suit jacket just as Jackie walked back into the house.

Alfred nodded "Any particular kind?" he asked.

"Your famous Tomato Basil, of course!" Bruce remarked, smirking, throwing his jacket on the chair.

Bruce cooed at the baby "There he is…" he said, reaching for Julian.

Jackie handed Julian off to Bruce who held the baby close, giving him kisses as he did.

"Have you fed him yet?" Bruce asked.

Jackie shook her head "No. He fell asleep on the swing, so I was about to put him down for a nap." She said.

Bruce nodded "Well, Alfred is going to make some soup if you want some…" he said, softly passing Julian back to Jackie.

"I'll be there…" she said, beginning to walk up the stairs to put Julian down for an early nap.

Bruce smiled as he took a bite of the soup "…so have you heard from Jonathan?" he asked.

Jackie shook her head "No." she spoke softly, blowing on her soup.

Bruce nodded "You think he'll do something reckless?" he asked.

Jackie looked up at Bruce, she put her spoon down and glared at Bruce "Have you heard something?" she asked.

"Nothing. I was going out tonight and just wanted to make sure." He said, taking another bite of his soup.

Jackie pushed the bowl of soup away "Jonathan…is…more powerful than you can understand, Bruce." She said, looking at Bruce.

Bruce put his spoon down, seeing the fear in her eyes "Are you afraid of him?" he asked.

"When he gets angry…he loses himself and what's dear to him." Jackie warned him.

Alfred put a hand on her shoulder as Bruce leaned back in his chair, absorbing what Jackie was telling him.

"I'll make sure you're not left alone tonight." He assured her, looking at her closely.

Jackie's hand turned into fists "Promise?"

"I promise." Bruce said.

Jackie tossed and turned in bed while Julian slept soundly in the night; the light from outside of her room was almost blinding her and she huffed and puffed.

"Oh for the love of God!" Jackie remarked to herself as she pushed the sheets away and walked out of her bedroom.

Jackie walked towards the staircase and stopped as she heard Bruce and Alfred begin to talk.

"Do you really think she has anything to worry about?" Alfred asked.

Jackie ducked at the railing as Bruce and Alfred came into view.

Bruce shrugged his shoulders "I don't know—we don't know what happened, Alfred. But until something comes up we need to be supportive!" Bruce said.

Alfred sighed "…I just don't feel comfortable with this. She can't be alone with this child…I won't allow it!" he said.

Bruce turned to Alfred "…she's a big girl, you have to let her make her own choices. I don't think this is going to last long; cause you know how they are." He said, smiling to Alfred.

Jackie sighed, losing all confidence in both Bruce and Alfred as she stood up and walked back into her bedroom.

She walked towards the window and watched the trees blow and the leaves sliding against the ground.

Jackie sighed as she fell back into bed and stared at her ceiling, letting the words echo in her mind.

Maybe Bruce was right.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Jonathan watched from the dark shadow in Jackie's room as Alfred walked in calmly, who was walking towards Julian's crib as he continued to sleep.

The father watched as Alfred checked in on the baby before turning to Jackie and walking towards her bed to tuck her into the sheets; Jonathan admitted that it was a bit nippy from the cold outside.

Alfred sighed, looking around the room before walking back out into the hallway and closed the door.

It was silent in the bedroom for a moment.

"What are we doing?" Ed asked as he hid in the shadows with Crane.

Crane sighed "I want you to stay here and watch them…I'm going to pick a fight." Crane remarked as he walked out of the shadow.

Ed narrowed his brow as he crossed his arms '…pick a fight with who?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it." Crane remarked as he jumped out of Jackie's bedroom window.

Ed turned to the crib, then to Jackie's bed and sighed "…he's a dead man." He muttered to himself.

Crane walked the streets of Gotham at night, it was unusually quiet which meant that either Batman or The Joker were around.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Crane yelled as he walked down the street.

There was a shadow off in the distance, that followed with whispers as Crane smirked and picked up the pace of his walk as he tried to catch up with the shadow.

Crane began to run towards the shadow before the shadow walked out into the street and took him off guard.

"You're not Batman…" The Joker remarked, chuckling a little.

Crane stopped in his tracks as Joker began to walk towards the fellow criminal "But funny…I was just thinking about you." The Joker continued to say.

"…I want to finish this…right here, right now…leave Jackie out of this." Crane remarked.

The Joker nodded as he thought about it, his hands behind his back as he thought about it.

"Sounds fair." The Joker remarked.

Crane's breathing began to shallow "I hope it is…"

The Joker smirked as he put his fists up "Put 'em up…winner gets Jackie and the baby…"

Crane balled his fists "Don't count on it." He replied.

The Joker smiled as he threw the first punch at Crane, who ducked to miss it.

Crane gutted The Joker with his fist but only a laugh came out of the lunatic "…is that the best you've got?" The Joker asked.

The villains went at it for 15 minutes before somebody grabbed Crane's wrist and pulled him away from the fight.

Crane blinked and saw a dark figure beating The Joker to a pulp before they dropped him to the ground.

The Joker laughed "It's about time you got here—glad to see you're picking sides with this." He said with a laugh.

Batman huffed "I'll deal with you later!" he said in his rugged voice.

Crane stood up "YOU!" he said, throwing a punch at Batman only to miss him as he moved off to his left.

Batman caught Crane's arm and head butted him which made Crane yell in pain "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Crane yelled as he tried to hit Batman again.

The Joker looked up from the asphalt of the road, intrigued by what was going on before he watched Batman knock Crane out and softly lay him onto the ground.

"Aww…why can't you be that gentle with me?" The Joker asked.

Batman turned to The Joker before walking towards him right when Gordon drove up in his patrol car.

The Joker pouted "…not fair." He said, lying his head back down on the asphalt.

Gordon got out of his patrol car just as three more parked around him, sirens blazing while they positioned behind their cards and guns pointed at The Joker.

"What happened?" Gordon asked, walking towards Batman.

Batman looked down at Crane then back to Gordon "…let me take care of this one." He said.

Gordon nodded "Just don't do anything that I'll have to explain to the Mayor.' He remarked, pointing a finger at him.

Crane awoke with a headache, and the light that was directly in his eye wasn't helping much as he softly looked up.

The homely living room of the Wayne Manor wasn't welcoming as a Ziploc bag of ice was slammed into his head.

Crane winced as he tried to reach for the ice pack only his arms were constricted by the arms of the chair he was currently sitting in.

"Oh, I'm sorry—not comfortable enough? Good." Bruce remarked as he sat across from Crane in the living room.

Bruce sat back in his chair as he stared at Crane, who looked up at him and let the ice pack fall to the ground; the two men glared at each other for a moment in the quiet.

"Does she know I'm here?" Crane asked.

Bruce shook his head "No. And it'll stay that way." He said.

Crane huffed as he adjusted in the chair "What do you expect me to say?" he asked.

Bruce shrugged his shoulders "I don't know. What do you have to say?"

"I love her." Crane said.

"How much?" he asked.

Crane sighed "…I do. A man like you wouldn't understand." He said.

"A man like me?" Bruce asked, chuckling as he popped his hands "… let me tell you something…doc…the love I have for the girl upstairs—I'd die for her. In fact, I'd kill for her-and her son. But you…I don't think you even know what love is."

Crane's breathing became hallow as Bruce glared at him a moment longer before speaking again.

"I've spent so much time and money on her just to keep her safe, to keep her in this house. What have you done; you've put her in danger…you've separated her from the ones she loves—you've ruined her life." Bruce said.

Crane pulled against his chair "I LOVE HER! To protect her is my life…to protect my son is my life! I have nothing but them…you might have money and notoriety, and a giant mansion; but all I've got is the clothes on my back, Jackie, and our son." He said.

Bruce leaned towards Crane and smirked "Then explain to me why she feels so alone when she's with you?" he asked.

Crane was at a loss of words for that moment, he took in a deep breathe "Because I'm trying to kill a mad man for her." He muttered.

Bruce leaned back into his chair and thought for a moment "You do…there is no try." He said before getting up from his chair and leaving the living room.

Crane looked over his shoulder as he watched Bruce open the front door and smile at whomever was about to enter the house.

"I'm sorry for calling you so late, he was just dropped at my door step…" Bruce spoke as Commissioner Gordon walked into the house.

Crane looked down at the floor, maybe Bruce had a point.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Crane stared at the bars of his cell, frustrated and still playing what Bruce told him over and over again in his head.

"Aww…did the Scarecrow lose some of his fluff?" The Joker asked in the next cell.

Crane turned and sighed heavily, giving him the evil eye.

He didn't understand why Gordon put him in the cell next to his…probably thinking he was doing Jackie and Batman a favor by letting them kill each other first.

Crane crossed his arms "Where's your Blonde Bimbo?" he asked in a snarky tone.

The Joker shrugged his shoulders as he held onto the bars, leaning into Crane's cell "I don't know…where's your Baby Mama?" he asked.

Crane stood up and looked The Joker dead in the eyes as he thought for a moment.

"DIE YOU CRAZY MOTHERFUCKER!" Crane yelled, his feet pushing against the cell bars as he had The Joker in a headlock.

The only thing The Joker could do was flail around as Commissioner Gordon began to run towards the cell.

"HEY! Break it up!" he said, coming into Crane's cell and having a fellow Gotham PD taze him.

Crane fell to the floor and twitched as he laid there, not fighting the surge of electricity in his system.

The Joker simply watched with a smug smile on his face.

Bruce sat with Julian in the high chair, he was starting to teeth and it was driving Jackie up the wall not knowing what to do.

"We're going to try Mashed Potatoes tonight…they've got butter in them, so it'll be very delicious." Bruce said with a smile as he got a small bite for Julian ready.

Julian looked at Bruce with his blue eyes as he opened his mouth willingly for the small fork of mashed potatoes.

"After dinner, it'll be bed time little man, so no fighting…" he said, feeding Julian.

Jackie rushed into the kitchen "…we've got a problem." She remarked.

Bruce turned to Jackie "…what kind of problem?" he asked.

"Gotham PD just exploded…The Joker is terrorizing the city—again." Jackie remarked, grabbing her jacket.

Bruce stood up "Uh, no…you stay here, feed Julian and Batman will take care of this." He remarked.

Jackie glared at him "…okay…" she said, unsure of what Bruce was telling her as she put her jacket back down.

"Tell Alfred I've gone…" Bruce remarked as he got up from his chair.

Jackie watched as Bruce made his way towards the East wing of the Manor before she walked towards Julian with a huge smile on her face.

She sat in front of her son that blankly stared at her for a moment, the Mashed Potatoes in front of Jackie made her sigh heavily as she looked up at Julian.

"Mashed Potatoes? Seriously? Uncle Bruce is crazy." Jackie said in a baby voice as Julian smiled.

Jackie smiled "Well, we're going to eat it anyway." She said.

Julian feel asleep quickly and that gave Jackie a relief as she grabbed her jacket and opened her bedroom window.

She looked down at the ground that felt like a million worlds down; Jackie couldn't care less as she took in a deep breathe and began to climb out of the window.

"One…two…three." Jackie whispered as she jumped away from her window and grabbed the tree across from the window.

The Riddler knocked on the front door of Wayne Manor, impatient as he knocked every 5 seconds only nobody answered.

He sighed as he turned away from the door to see Jackie run out from behind the house and towards Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini that was parked in the drive way.

"Jackie!" Ed whispered loudly, running towards her.

Jackie turned around to see Ed coming towards her in a rush "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Ed tried to catch his breathe as he tried to explain to Jackie "…Jon's missing…he went out last night and he never came home."

"And I should care…why?" Jackie asked in a harsh tone.

Edward Nigma rolled his eyes "Because deep down inside you're relationship with him is sick and twisted and you love every minute of it!"

Jackie sighed "Get in the car." She remarked.

Jackie parked the Lamborghini a few blocks away from the burning building as her and Ed walked towards the building.

Gotham Firefighters were trying to put out a fire when screams and shots were heard a few blocks down; Jackie ran swiftly as Ed followed behind, he never thought he'd see the day where he played the hero instead of the villain.

"Are you sure about this?" Ed asked, running with Jackie.

Jackie nodded as she continued to run towards the commotion, only to stop herself as she watched all of Gotham PD drive towards Arkham.

Ed stopped and shook his head "…you're on your own!" he remarked.

"Oh, don't be a pussy! Lets go!" Jackie snapped, beginning to run again towards the bridge to get across towards Arkham where a helicopter flew above them towards Arkham.

Ed sighed "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"YES!" Jackie yelled, finally making towards Arkham where the police were surrounding the asylum and the helicopters were flying around.

They both continued to run until Jackie lost sight of where she was running and ran right into Commissioner Gordon.

"HEY…watch it—oh, Jackie." Gordon remarked as he turned around to face her.

Jackie began to catch her breathe as she smiled at Gordon "Hey."

Ed followed behind, beginning to slow down as he dearly died from lack of oxygen.

"Is uh…well, what's going on?" Jackie asked.

Gordon grimaced at Jackie "Batman's here, maybe you should ask him." He remarked before walking away.

Jackie groaned as she turned back to Ed who was still gasping for air "You should really lay off those cigarettes…"

"I don't smoke." Ed coughed, kneeling down as he continued to regain his breathe.

Jackie looked around, trying to see if Ed was causing any attention; and surprisingly he wasn't.

"…okay then, I'm going to try to get a closer look. You…keep breathing." Jackie said, patting Ed on the back before walking away and towards the front of Arkham.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Jackie saw the shadow of the Batman as windows burst open around the asylum.

She noticed Ed has currently gone missing but she knew it was to crowded to care; she rushed to Batman and tugged on his cape to get his attention.

Batman turned, Bruce was not amused as he opened his mouth to talk.

"I'm already here, you might as well use me!" Jackie remarked, stopping him from talking.

He huffed "Distract them…I need to isolate The Joker." He said.

Jackie nodded and turned around to see the sea of officers and S.W.A.T as she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

Ed grabbed her shoulder, tugging her towards the back of a police car.

"Seriously, what are we doing here?" he asked.

Jackie thought for a moment before she turned to Ed and smiled "Distracting them."

"How?" Ed asked.

Jackie looked up to see the Gotham P.D. helicopter flying around, she finalized her plan as she went under her shirt and unclasped her bra.

Ed cocked an eye brow as Jackie handed him her simple black bra.

"You might want to look away." Jackie spoke before she began to walk away from behind the police car.

Jackie jumped around in an isolated area while trying to get the light on her; before she knew it the helicopter's spotlight was on her.

'Sorry Bruce," she muttered, lifting her shirt up and flashing the men in the copter.

The men screamed, she could hear the radios pour out sounds about her needing to be detained.

"HEY!" a random officer yelled as three more chased her down.

Jackie dropped her shirt back down and accepted her punishment.

She sat in the remainder of what was a cell at Gotham P.D.

Jackie heard foot steps coming towards the cell block, she stood up slowly and walked towards the bars while leaning out to see who was coming.

It wasn't long before the shadow of Commissioner Gordon was on the wall, Jackie sighed as she turned away for a moment.

Jackie held onto the bars as Gordon reached her cell, it was silent before Gordon simply sighed and glared at her.

"He told me to distract them." Jackie argued.

Gordon shook his head "I can't unsee that…those poor rookies. First big call and they see your—your umm…"

"My boobs." Jackie said unashamed.

Gordon nodded "Yes." He spoke softly, almost blushing as he turned away from Jackie.

Jackie cleared her throat as an uncomfortable silence filled the jail before Gordon turned back to Jackie and the both of them began to giggle.

Gordon sighed "…you're bail is set at $1,000…and I'm pretty sure you'll be charged with indecent exposure." He remarked.

"That's fair." Jackie spoke.

Gordon nodded "It's very fair…you'll get your call as soon as we can get a phone working." He assured her before walking away from her cell.

Only 15 minutes had passed, Jackie sat in her cell quietly as she felt the cold breeze of nightly Gotham air on her back from the small window.

Jackie sighed as she stood up to stretch her legs and gain feeling back in her spine when she heard the loud echo of several gunshots coming from the other side of the department.

It didn't take much longer for Jackie to hear the sound of The Joker's voice; clearly all didn't go well with Batman in Arkham.

Jackie scurried for a plan as she tried to calmly and quietly put herself together when she looked down at her boney arms and looked across towards a caved in roof that could give her security if she squeezed between the bars and under the rubble of The Joker's first attack.

The bars were much effort as she easily squeezed through the bars and towards the caved in roof that was also right next to the entrance where if timed wrong, The Joker could easily spot her.

Jackie held onto the bars tightly before looking out towards the rest of the department where nobody was around but Jackie could hear another few gun shots.

"Go." Jackie whispered to herself as she jumped into the rubble and his under the desk that the rubble was hiding.

Jackie held her breathe as she looked in a small hole to watch out for what was going on.

"Ohhh Jackie…sweetie pie?" she could hear The Joker say as he walked into the cells.

Jackie continued to hold her breathe as she watched The Joker look at every cell and sighed heavily "…damn…I was so sure I had her this time." He spoke to himself before walking out the cells.

The silence was eerie but Jackie refused to move as she sat there quietly for what seemed like forever before a friendly and familiar voice came into the room.

"Jackie?...Jackie?" Ed whispered as he entered the cell.

Jackie shot up in the table and looked out from the rubble and saw Ed, her black bra still in his hands as he looked paler than normal from the looks of things.

"…oh thank god." Ed said, reaching out to get Jackie out of the rubble.

Jackie smiled as she extended her hand to Ed as she got out of the rubble and towards the exit of the cells.

Ed sighed heavily "Well I think I've had enough excitement for one night…lets go." He spoke before handing her back her bra.

Jackie nodded "Yes, me too."

Jackie parked the Lamborghini in the front of Wayne Manor as her and Ed climbed out; trying to not attract any attention from anybody inside as Ed began to walk back to this car.

"Hey Ed," Jackie spoke, turning to Ed.

Ed turned back to Jackie and smiled "Yeah?" he asked.

"Thanks…" Jackie spoke before walking towards the mansion when the front door opened.

Alfred and Bruce peered out and glared at Jackie as she continued to make her way into the house; she knew this wasn't going to end well.

Bruce and Jackie made eye contact as she got to the porch, she stopped and looked at the both of them.

"In the house…" Bruce demanded.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

"FUCK YOU!" he heard Jackie yelled in the living room, Crane watched their shadows from the balcony near Jackie's bedroom.

Bruce's face was turning red from anger "I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE THE HOUSE—I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU!"

Jackie's hands turned to fists "You can't tell me what to do! I'm not a kid anymore!" she spat.

"You're a mother! Mothers don't go out all hours of the night! Especially to get into trouble—with villains!" Bruce yelled.

Jackie scuffed "Don't you talk to me about going out all hours of the night! How dare you!" Jackie yelled.

Bruce got into her face "I have no other obligations to attend to! If it were up to me, I'd say you were a pretty shitty mother! That boy is better of with his villainous father!" he yelled.

That struck a cord with not only Jackie but with Crane as well as he stood up sternly and softly walked back into Jackie's bedroom where Julian was currently sleeping.

Jackie opened her mouth to yell back, but she couldn't—her emotions were getting too high and at 3:30 in the morning she was loosing the uphill battle.

She walked away, trying to wait until she was alone before she let tears form in her eyes.

Crane checked on the sleeping Julian as Jackie opened the door and began to sob uncontrollably as she closed the door behind her.

Jackie turned to see Crane slowly walking away from Julian's crib, though she continued to sob as she pushed away from the door and towards her bed.

"Jackie…" Crane whispered, following her to the bed as she held tightly onto one of Julian's stuffed animals as she sobbed.

Jackie refused to look at him "He's right y'know…" she sobbed.

Crane comforted Jackie as he stroked her arm "No, you're not. If anything, I'm the bad parents…"

Jackie tried to control her tears as she wiped the remainder away and turned back to Crane "Does he have to be so mean?" she asked.

"No. But…he does have a point; you shouldn't be going out all hours of the night. Especially when nobody knows you've left in the first place!" he remarked.

Jackie smiled "How long have you been here?" she whispered.

"…I was in jail…with the Joker, and he blew it up with us inside. And as soon as I got free, I walked here…but you weren't here." Crane whispered.

Jackie sighed as she held his hand "…I'm glad you're here." She whispered.

"Me too…now get some sleep." He whispered back.

Crane slept on the couch in the living room, the lights were off and the echoes of the large manor gave him little comfort.

He tossed and turned for what felt like centuries before the hallway light towards the kitchen lit up; catching Crane's eye.

Crane got off the couch and walked into the kitchen where Alfred was putting the kettle on.

"It's not even 6o'clock…" Crane muttered.

Alfred turned "Oh, sorry…didn't mean to wake you." He said.

"I wasn't doing a lot of sleeping…" Crane confessed.

Alfred nodded "Well I guess the lot of us weren't tonight, were we?" he remarked.

Crane nodded as he leaned against the isle in the kitchen "…I just wish this was all over…or better yet, I wish I'd never met her; cause none of this would be happening." He muttered.

Alfred turned to Crane "Well, what's done is done…and you can't change your past—but you can shape the future a little better."

"The future? The only thing I can see is us not working out—that's our future." Crane remarked subtly.

Alfred smiled softly "What about your son? He needs you…and as much as nobody in this house wants to admit it; she does too…"

The elderly man walked away from the stove and sat on the Isle next to Crane "…if you could fix everything, truly and honestly, how would you do it?" he asked.

Crane rubbed his hands softly "Maybe I'd still be practicing medicine…at Arkham. She would come by for lunch every day…stick Julian with you and Bruce for an hour…we'd live in a nice home on the outskirts of Gotham and we'd be happy—truly and honestly happy." He confessed, imagining all of it.

"Sounds blissful—wish I could have that life." Alfred remarked with sarcasm.

Crane nodded "Yeah, me too…" he spoke as he pushed away from the Isle.

Alfred smiled "When she moved in with us, she was 14; she had quit her dancing and had for quite some time…I suggested she go back to Ballet…"

"Did she?" Crane asked.

Alfred nodded "She did—and it was almost taken away from her."

"What?"

"Her dream, of being a Prima Ballerina…or just a ballerina in general." Alfred spoke.

Crane sat next to Alfred "What happened?" he asked.

"She went out…night like tonight…Bane had completely trashed the downtown district…and she went down there to help." Alfred said.

Crane leaned up "Well, what happened?" he asked.

"That man—that *beast* threw a bus on her…crushed her legs and hips. The poor girl was supposed to open as the lead for Swan Lake the next night." Alfred spoke, tears forming as he recalled the night.

Crane covered his mouth in shock as he continued to listen to the story.

"The doctors thought it was beyond not dancing again…they said she probably wouldn't be able to walk again just by how the fractures were—well…" Alfred trailed off.

"Yeah." Crane spoke.

Alfred took a deep breathe "She…well…Bruce told her the news, and I remember her just staring him down going 'But I'm the Swan Queen!' denying everything had happened. She cried for days…" Alfred said.

"What about Bruce?" Crane asked.

Alfred sighed "He, well…cried—for weeks. He couldn't believe that, metaphorically speaking, he took away her dream."

Crane nodded as he cleared his throat, trying to deny himself the release of tears "…villains don't cry! What's wrong with you!' he told himself before smiling.

"But it ended well, right?" Crane asked.

Alfred nodded "…she wanted to defy the doctor—she gave that man the middle finger in English and American and forced herself to try and walk. And we'd be damned, she did! And the first thing she did was start all over again with ballet…she had to retrain her body everything."

"It was a travesty…but I believe it worked out for the better…still doesn't stop me from wishing that somebody could have stopped her—or Bruce…" he trailed off.

Crane looked up "Bruce what?" he asked.

"…that maybe Bruce should have locked her door from the outside…we both figured she'd grow out of it after awhile." Alfred confessed.

Crane nodded "And now look at her." He remarked.

Alfred looked Crane dead in the eye "…yes…look at us now." He spat before going to the screaming kettle.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

It was 7 in the morning when Crane finished his third up of tea and watched Alfred look through the kitchen.

"If I gave you a list, would you go to the grocery store?" Alfred asked.

Crane nodded "Can I take Julian?" he asked in return.

"Only if he's awake." Alfred remarked, smirking at Crane.

Crane smiled as he got out of his seat and turned around to see Bruce in front of him with a stern grimace on his face and Julian in his arms.

"Jonathan." Bruce muttered.

Crane snatched Julian out of his arms "Bruce…" he said as he walked away from the two men and towards the front door.

Bruce turned to Alfred and cocked an eye brow "What was that about?" he asked.

"I sent him and Julian to the store…" Alfred remarked, turning away.

Crane noticed the glares as he walked by with the cart that carried the baby, he tried to ignore the glares but his fatherly instincts were kicking in and he wanted to protect Julian from the glaring people.

Julian looked around the isle as Crane stopped to read the list once against to remember what he needed on that particular isle.

It was after a moment of him going down the list that Crane felt the urge to look up to see two young women eyeing Julian, playing with him from a distance.

Crane turned to Julian who was giggling as he continued to suck on his binky before he looked up at his father and continued to giggle.

"…tease." Crane muttered as he continued walking.

As people continued to glare at Crane as he strolled through the isles with Julian, he looked down to check when Julian looked up at Crane before dropping his binky and opening his mouth wide.

"Oh, yeah…I forgot to feed you before we left, I'm sorry." Crane remarked, reaching into the diaper bag for a bottle of Apple Juice.

Julian dropped Boo Boo, that was resting next to him, as he reached for the bottle; quietly drinking as Crane bent down to pick up the teddy bear.

Crane put Boo Boo in his pocket as he pushed Julian in the car towards the next isle.

Crane opened the door with Julian in one arm and two bags in the other "Uhh, I'm home!" he yelled as he walked into the kitchen.

He put the bags down and dashed into the living room to put Julian in his rocking chair when he heard voices building up outside of the living room.

"I don't care what I have to do—this ends tonight!" Bruce remarked as he came down the stairs with Alfred.

"Master Wayne, do you really think we should be doing this when we have, um, unassuming eyes currently living in the manor?" Alfred asked.

Crane hid against the wall as he continued to listen to Bruce and Alfred talk quietly in the house.

"It doesn't matter, The Joker isn't going to stop, not until Jackie is…well…"

"Yes, Master Wayne…no need to jinx the situation." Alfred muttered softly.

Bruce sighed "I've got to save her. I want—no, I *need* her to be with Crane, unfortunately, he's the only chance she's got at any type of a normal life."

"Master Wayne, but as her legal guardian, I want more than this life for her…normality no longer shall exist in her life, no matter what she does." Alfred remarked.

Bruce sighed "I just want her to be happy."

"Me too, Master Wayne, me too." Alfred spoke.

Crane leaned against the wall, putting two and two together as the wheels worked in his mind before he looked down at Julian.

"Oh, my…" Crane muttered softly.

"Babe?" Crane yelled as he walked into the laundry room while Jackie began throwing a load into the washer.

Jackie turned around as Crane entered the room, he quietly shut the door behind him before embarrassingly smiling at Jackie.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned.

Crane sighed as he stroked both of Jackie's shoulders "I'm going to ask you something…and you don't have to answer if you don't want to." He told her.

Jackie looked at him concerned "…okay…" she said cautiously.

Crane smiled "Is Bruce the Batman?" he asked.

"What!" Jackie asked shocked.

"Is Bruce Wayne Batman?" Crane asked again.

Jackie laughed "No! He's not Batman. I think I would know if Bruce was Batman…"

"But you'd tell me if he was, right?" Crane asked her.

Jackie nodded "Of course, I would!" she remarked.

Crane patted her shoulders "Okay." He gave her a kiss and exited the laundry room.

Jackie turned back around towards the laundry and lost her smile "Oh, shit…" she muttered to herself.

Jackie shut the door behind her while walking into Bruce's office, she locked the door as she took a deep breathe.

"Well this can't be good if you're locking the door behind you." Bruce remarked, taking off his reading glasses.

Jackie smirked "Oh…we've got a problem." She said, clapping her hands together.

Bruce put his pen down and leaned towards Jackie as she walked towards the table even closer.

"He's on to you…" Jackie whispered.

"Who is?" Bruce asked.

Jackie cocked an eye brow and glared at Bruce for a moment longer before Bruce sighed and sat back in his chair.

"How?" he asked.

Jackie shrugged his shoulders "I don't know, he just came up and asked me point blank. What are we going to do?" she asked.

Bruce shook his head "Nothing."

Jackie looked at Bruce confused, beginning to play with her finger nails as Bruce stood up and walked towards her "…let him think it's all in his head, just pretend that everything is normal." He told her.

"For the record, nothing is normal." Jackie remarked before she walked away and unlocked the door again.

Jackie sat on her bed and thought as she watched Julian take his noon nap; she sighed heavily as she finally got off her bed and walked towards the window, seeing the tree next to it begin to sprout apples.

Jackie smiled as she thought for a moment, looking at Julian before grabbing her cell phone from her pocket and dialing a number.

"…Gordon? It's me…I need your help."


	18. Chapter Eighteen

The night grew dark as Jackie looked into the crib once more as Julian looks up to her and smiled softly.

"Be good." She muttered, stroking Julian's head before grabbing her jacket and placing the note for Bruce, Alfred, and Crane on her night table.

Jackie swiftly jumped out of her bedroom window, grabbing onto the tree before beginning to climb down the tree and around Wayne Manor to the drive way.

She hide in the dark of the drive way as she walked her way down to the end of the road where Commissioner Gordon was waiting for her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean why don't you just let Batman take care of it?" Gordon asked as he drove away from the manor.

Jackie sighed "Because this is personal…" she said, turning to Gordon sternly.

Gordon sighed in respond, watching the road as he drove "Well if anything happens…I'm calling him." He told her.

"Fine! But I'm going to take care of this myself! Did you bring me the supplies?" Jackie asked, dropping the visor to watch herself pull her hair back.

Gordon nodded "Yeah, it's all in the backseat."

Jackie grabbed the gym bag from the backseat and looked through it, she smiled softly before zipping the bag back up and turned to Gordon.

"I'm sorry."

Gordon turned to her concerned "Sorry about what?" he asked.

"Everything. The past…I don't know, five years." Jackie remarked.

Gordon smiled as he turned to her "In all honesty, best five years of my career!" he began to chuckle.

Jackie smiled "Well…then, alright." She muttered, looking out the window.

"Master Wayne—"

"Alfred, I can take care of this," Bruce said, walking into his office "...just distract Crane long enough to-"

"Long enough for you to do what?" Crane asked, walking into the office.

Alfred and Bruce looked at each other before they both turned back to Crane, who had his hands in his pockets.

"…long enough so I can go get Jackie." Bruce spoke softly.

Crane smirked as he took a step forward "And how exactly do you expect to do that?" he asked.

Bruce sighed and shrugged his shoulders "I haven't thought about that plan let." He told Crane.

Crane walked closer to Bruce and sighed heavily "…you have no idea what you're up against. This is the mother of my son, and The Joker has taken this whole shebang personally! You want to go 'save' your Swan Queen, that's fine—but I'm going to save my wife…"

Crane walked out of the office, leaving Alfred and Bruce alone in their thought before Alfred turned to Bruce "…oh, dear." He said before walking out of the office.

Jackie stood in the old warehouse, where rather frustrating yet fond memories arised in her head as she waited for him to arrive.

A familiar chuckle echoed through the warehouse as Jackie turned around, tense as she watched the familiar shadow walked towards her.

"Well, hello my dear." The Joker spoke.

Jackie sighed "It's just you?" she asked.

"Oh, anything for you…after all, we're all just trying to survive." The Joker remarked, showing himself to Jackie.

Jackie crossed her arms and smirked "So…please enlighten me, before you, oh, you know, kill me…where did this bad blood come from?" she asked.

The Joker laughed "Wouldn't you like to know!" he spoke.

Jackie cocked an eye brow "Well…it started with the beating of a lifetime…about, oh, a year ago…between you, and my darling." The Joker remarked, circling Jackie like a Falcon.

"…she DID sleep with my baby daddy, remember?" Jackie reminded him.

The Joker smiled "That she did, didn't she?" he spoke.

Jackie and The Joker glared at each other for a moment before The Joker changed his glance "So…I take it you've said your goodbyes?" he asked her.

"Uh-huh…" Jackie spoke softly.

The Joker nodded "What a shame…that poor boy will live without a mother…and maybe a father if my cards are played right." He smiled.

Jackie put her hands in her pockets "Well whatever, just get with it already—you've got a million other things to do, I'm sure." Jackie spoke.

The Joker laughed "Well, you've got your priorities together…" he pulled out his pistol and pointed it point blank at Jackie "Goodbye, Jackie." He spoke softly.

"Indeed, goodbye…" Jackie remarked before she grabbed The Joker's wrist and tazed him.

The Joker shook violently before a random shot was fired from his pistol and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"…see you later." Jackie remarked softly, dropping the tazer onto the floor and kicked the pistol away.

Crane jumped out of the taxi and ran into the warehouse, seeing shadows of two people and whispers echoing through the building.

"Take it easy! We want him alive!" he heard a voice murmur as he walked closer into the warehouse.

"I'm sorry, I've never done this before." He heard another voice proclaim.

Crane walked farther into the warehouse to witness Jackie and Gordon trying The Joker's feet to a hot water pipe.

"Sweetie? Crane asked, walking towards both Jackie and Gordon.

They both turned to Crane, Jackie smirked "Jon, what are you doing here?" she asked, walking towards him.

"I came to get you…but apparently, you don't need help." Crane remarked, looking over her shoulder to see the unconscious Joker lying next to Gordon.

Jackie sighed heavily as she crossed her arms "I can take care of myself…so if you'll excuse me…" Jackie walked away and back towards Gordon and The Joker.

Crane huffed as he followed Jackie, the baseball bat next to Gordon, who handed it to Jackie.

Jackie took a deep breathe as she placed the baseball bat against The Joker's knee, before pulling back and getting ready to swing; her breathing became hallow as she looked at Gordon, who anticipated her swing.

"Don't do it!" a husky voice yelled.

The three people turned to the shadows where Batman appeared, fast walking to Jackie.

"GODDAMN IT!" she yelled, tossing the baseball aside and walking away to take a deep breathe.

Crane softly picked up the bat and watched as Batman lunged at Jackie "I told you to stay put!" he yelled at Jackie.

"NO! This is my problem, and I have it under control! You cannot fix this!" Jackie yelled, getting into Batman's face.

Crane and Gordon looked at each other before glaring back at Batman and Jackie, who were getting into their fight.

Jackie screamed "He's not going to stop! He's going to be after me, and Jon, and Julian until he gets me…don't you get that! This has nothing to do with chaos or anarchy—it's about ME…and me alone!" she confessed.

Batman sighed; he glared at Jackie whose breathing became shallow as she glared into his eyes "Let me do this. And we can all go home." She spoke softly.

It was then at that moment, as he watched Jackie look into the eyes of Batman that he realized the look upon on her face; she only did it with one other person in the world: Bruce Wayne.

"Jackie!" Crane yelled, walking over to her and pushed Batman out of the way "…listen to me, you can't do this! I won't let you…and I'm pretty sure Bruce—I mean…whatever, just—look, go home, eat something…take care of our son; I've got this." Crane told her, taking her cheek and stroking it.

Jackie sighed as she looked at Crane, then over at Batman, before she took a deep breathe and walked away and out of the warehouse.

Crane turned to Batman "...fuck you." He muttered.

Batman followed Crane "She's part of my life too!"

"OH YEAH!" Crane asked, turning around to face him "You think she can have a future with you? Like she'll be your sidekick forever?"

Batman and Crane glared at each other for a moment longer before Crane sighed and turned back towards The Joker who was beginning to wake up.

Crane and Gordon looked down at The Joker, who was admitting that he was seeing double as he giggled.

Batman stood behind Crane as they all looked down at The Joker, who looked up at them and laughed until it hurt "Well, boys…" The Joker said.

Crane bonked The Joker on the head lightly with the bat "Glad you've decided to join the party." He muttered.

The Joker smirked "Good, you brought friends! I called a few, they should be here soon!" he remarked.

Right at that moment, a few car doors closed off in the distance, causing adrenaline to drop in both Crane and Gordon, who went pale as he took off his glasses to clean them.

Crane turned to Batman who was getting ready for the battle, Crane sighed as he prepared his toxin "…ready when you are!" he muttered softly.

Gordon pulled out his gun "…I think I might actually throw up." He confessed.

"Thanks for the heads up Commissioner…I've got your back." Crane responded.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

The last thug dropped in front of Crane, who huffed as he quickly picked up the baseball bat and adjusted his jacket.

"Alright." He muttered as he turned to The Joker who looked irritated.

Crane smirked as he raised the bat, aiming for The Joker's knee cap; he looked down to The Joker and sighed "…you're gonna leave my wife alone; you're gonna leave my son alone…cause next time, I'm going to kill you." Crane spoke.

The Joker chuckled "…give me you're best shot."

Jackie was sipping on her coffee as she tried to feed Julian at the same time while Alfred began to cook breakfast.

"Have you heard from Bruce?" Jackie asked softly.

Alfred shook his head "No. Have you heard from Jonathan?" Alfred asked.

"Afraid not." Jackie responded, feeding Julian with a spoonful of Oatmeal.

Just then the front door opened and shut almost as immediately as it opened; with the rather chipper steps of Crane echoing through the house.

"Jackie?" Crane asked.

Jackie turned to Alfred before she put the spoon and her coffee down and began to walk out towards the entrance where she nearly bumped into Crane.

"What's going o—" Crane interrupted her question as he pulled her into a deep and ravishing kiss that was in the view of both Alfred and Julian.

Crane dipped her as he continued to kiss Jackie, who at first tried to push him away only to pull him deeper into the kiss.

Jackie pulled away from the kiss finally to breathe as she looked at Crane "What are you doing?" she asked.

Crane pulled Jackie out of the entrance and up the stairs where Crane guided them both to Jackie's bedroom before closing and locking the door behind them.

Jackie was pushed against the door as Crane began to parade Jackie with rough kisses as his hands moved up and down her body.

"Wait-wait-wait…" Jackie spoke, pushing Crane away from her "…I'm glad you libido is working…but, what happened back at the—"

"Shh.' Crane whispered to her.

Jackie looked at Crane, who stroked her cheek "…you left, and then I broke his knees…both of 'em."

Jackie cocked an eye brow "Seriously?" she asked surprised.

"Yes, seriously…now take off her pants." Crane remarked, unbuckling his belt and taking off his jacket.

Jackie laughed "Take it easy!" she spoke.

Crane grabbed her wrist and threw her towards the bed, Jackie landed gracefully as Crane climbed on top of her, taking off his belt completely and throwing it on the floor.

Jackie leaned in to kiss Crane as he softly took her cardigan off, exposing her grey tank top before letting his hands roam her body.

"Jonathan," Jackie muttered, combing her hands through his hair.

"Yes, my love." Crane spoke softly, kissing his collar bone.

Jackie tilted her head back "…fuck me." She whispered.

Crane looked up and smiled at Jackie as he stroked her face "No, baby…I'm gonna make love to you." He told her, kissing her passionately.

Jackie gasped for air as she held onto Crane with all her might; his thrusts making her feel like she was flying.

"You like that?" Crane asked softly.

Jackie moaned "Yeah, baby right there." She whispered to him.

Crane thrusted once again before taking a risk and trying another maneuver, making Jackie gasp as she held tightly onto the bed frame.

"JONATHAN." Jackie moaned, then realizing what just happened.

Crane looked down at Jackie who made eye contact with Crane, she held onto his neck as she pulled him in for another kiss.

"Do the movie again…" Jackie moaned.

Crane looked down at Jackie, who bit her lip as she looked up at him; waiting for him to do the move again.

He did the move, Jackie fought the urge to moan loudly as she pushed Crane off of her "I knew it!" she proclaimed.

Crane looked at Jackie "Knew what?" he asked her.

"You've been getting around!" she accused.

Crane looked at her surprised as he shook his head "No! I have not!" he said.

"Then explain to me your new moves!" Jackie remarked, covering herself with the sheets as she sat up.

Crane looked down as he mumbled his answer.

Jackie gagged "I can't hear you!"

Crane mumbled again.

"I seriously can't understand a word you're saying, Jonathan." Jackie spoke sternly.

"Cosmo!" Crane said, blushing hard as he finally looked up to Jackie.

Jackie cocked an eye brow "Are you serious?" she asked.

Crane tried hard not to laugh as he cleared his throat "…I just thought that maybe if you were satisfied sexually then maybe…" he trailed off.

"STOP!" Jackie asked, as she pulled Crane in for another kiss and laid back down in bed where Crane quickly crawled on top of her.

Crane positioned himself and Jackie as close to each other as he possibly could before he began to thrust deep inside of her.

"JON." Jackie moaned loudly, letting her hands comb through her own hair as she curved her body back.

Crane kissed her chest as he continued to thrust, picking up the pace to where he was nearly throwing Jackie against the headboard.

Jackie gasped as she held onto the headboard "Yeah, baby, right there!" Jackie moaned, letting small groans escape with each small thrust.

"Oh, baby…Jackie." Crane moaned, leaning against Jackie while he continued to thrust; he was almost there but he knew Jackie was nowhere near to being 'ready'.

Crane tried to slow down, but he was losing his control as he began to pick up the pace on his thrusts, causing Jackie to gasp with every thrust however not making much effort with her.

He felt himself about to come as his thrusts became harder and rougher with every passing moment; he felt his coil about to burst.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Crane remarked as he continued to thrust hard and rough until his coil exploded.

Crane came inside of Jackie, slowing down as he rested against Jackie who sighed heavily as she patted Crane on the back sarcastically.

"…I'm so sorry, baby." Crane muttered.

Jackie smiled "It's okay, we've got the rest of our lives to figure it out." She spoke softly.

Crane looked up at Jackie and smiled "What did you say?" he asked.

"You heard me." Jackie spoke.

Crane smiled as he leaned in to kiss her, never wanting to let Jackie as they began to cuddle under the covers for a moment.

"You and me against the world, Jackie." Crane whispered.

Jackie sighed as she held onto Crane's arm "Yeah, you and me both babe."


End file.
